Rating:
R
House:
Schnoogle
Ships:
Draco Malfoy/Harry Potter
Characters:
Draco Malfoy Harry Potter Original Female Witch
Genres:
Slash Drama
Era:
Harry and Classmates Post-Hogwarts
Spoilers:
Philosopher's Stone Chamber of Secrets Prizoner of Azkaban Goblet of Fire Order of the Phoenix Quidditch Through the Ages
Stats:
Published: 04/22/2005
Updated: 07/30/2008
Words: 247,857
Chapters: 31
Hits: 79,195

The Bet

Aki-Hoshi

Story Summary:
It all started with a little bet. "I bet you can't do it." "Do what?" "Seduce him." Draco Malfoy's never been one to back down from a perfectly do-able bet. But when that bet involves Harry Potter? Draco's realising that this bet isn't as cut and dry as it seems, nor as easy... AU post-war, post-Hogwarts, Harry/Draco/OC

Chapter 06

Chapter Summary:
Neville sets out on his quest to find out information from
Posted:
05/16/2005
Hits:
2,881
Author's Note:
I'm not sure I have anything to say about this


~~~~~

The Bet

Chapter VI - You Needed Me, and the Unknown Safety I Have in You

~~~~~

22 September 2003

Now that I've had time to sleep on it...I've realised a few things.

One: Although she can be entirely too aggravating for words, I love Raven so much it hurts sometimes.

Two: Getting Potter to fuck me is almost easier than dealing with this woman. But it's too painful to think of losing her. She's been my only lifeline for too long now.

Three: If I ever have to wake up without her in my bed again, I think I'll go insane.

Yup. She slept over last night. Not that anything happened, much to my dismay, other than snogging and a little petting. She's not ready yet, she says. Which I secretly think is a bunch of bullocks.

But at the same time, I understand why she doesn't just want to hop in the sack either. We have the entire world to explore, and there's no reason to rush it. And she's right; we have gotten a second chance at life. I can't imagine being where Goyle is right now...in Azkaban. It's unthinkable.

So...we're going to have some fun. Which is where our inherent Slytherin sides come in. Her mischievousness is amazing. I'd say she could be so much worse than I ever was. And I think it's just because she lets her basic carnal desires steer her path, while I've always relied on my hatred for things, which, at least in the past, I thought was what made me happy. Seeing others suffer.

But, of course, it didn't. Not for long, in any case. At least I'll be getting some kind of pleasure out of this. I'm scared to think that Potter will be the one to give it to me. Especially considering that I haven't had sex in...much too long. Waiting for the right moment with Raven has been...while not extremely frustrating, altogether tiring. I'm not sure my libido can take much more teasing.

Raven keeps mentioning that there's something about Potter that I'm not seeing, or I've begun to, but I haven't realised it yet. Sometimes I worry about that girl's sanity. But I'll watch. I'll watch him, figure him out, then take what I need. Then Raven will be mine.

Of course, all those delusions aside, I know it won't be that simple. I'm beginning to feel like Potter's only part of the picture. But although it seems like he's the focus of this whole...situation, I get the feeling he's not. There really is no focus. Just a bunch of confusion.

Not that I'm confused about how I feel about Raven, of course. I love her, without a doubt. But I am confused about Potter. Half of me, the old me, the one that's screaming for normalcy, is telling me that nothing's changed, that I still hate him. But I know I don't. I haven't for a while, I realise. Do I find him annoying? Yes. But hate? No...not really. I'm not sure when it changed. And I suppose I honestly don't care.

There's another factor to this whole thing. Do I find him attractive? At first, I thought no. Even after all of Raven's talk on Thursday. But then when I saw him in only his shirt and knickers the other night...I must say, while he may not be good-looking in the same way that I am, he certainly grew into some kind of attractive bloke at some point I never realised. I missed it somehow.

I really don't consider myself gay or bi or whatever, but I know beauty when I see it. And while Potter certainly doesn't have the same kind of beauty as Raven, I have noticed over the past few days that he has...something. Whatever it is, I have yet to figure out.

Oh. Raven's waking up. Merlin, she's gorgeous. Dark silky hair, pale skin, bright green eyes... Hey...maybe that's what it is. That's what I find attractive about Potter. I've never noticed how much they look alike. Interesting...I've always placed them in such different places in my mind. Well, besides the fact that they're different genders, and their personalities are totally different. Hmm...I'll have to muse about this more later. Raven's calling.

~~~~~

"Dray?" Raven said in a yawn, rubbing the sleepiness out of her eyes.

"I'm here, love," Draco said as he crawled back into bed, getting back under the covers and wrapping his arms around the girl, revelling in the feeling of skin-on-skin.

"What were you doing?"

"Just writing."

"In that journal for me?"

"No, actually. In another one. One that I have more control over what's written."

"Oh. I see." She snuggled into his embrace and tucked her head under his chin. "What were you writing about, if I may ask?"

"About you. About Potter. The usual."

"The usual, huh?"

"Yeah. About how I feel about you, and how bloody difficult you are," she giggled at this, and he placed a kiss in her hair. "And about how I'm going to deal with Potter..." he trailed off for a moment before finishing: "About how I've been beginning to think that he's attractive."

"Oh, really?"

"Yes." He was glad she couldn't see his blush. Malfoys didn't blush after all. Blast his father's ability to still have an ingrained control in Draco's life.

"Well, I'm glad you're finally coming to your senses," Raven replied.

"Hey!"

"What? It's true."

"But still." They lay there a moment longer, and then Raven finally moved, pulling away and sitting up, keeping the blanket with her to cover her naked torso.

"Well, I should probably get going. I've got to go get my school stuff for today. And eat."

"Aww..." Draco pouted.

"Oh, Dray. Honestly, you've become much too melodramatic. What happened to that hardened Slytherin bad-ass that I fell in love with, eh?"

"Oh, he's in here somewhere. Just waiting for the opportune moment..."

A roll of eyes. "Right..." Raven leaned down and gave Draco a sensuous kiss on the lips, stealing his breath for a moment. "I've got to go, love. See you in class." Then she slipped out of the bed and quickly dressed in her sweater and skirt, slipping on her clogs and grabbing her bra. Draco watched in avid interest as Raven's long hair flowed around her like silk, accenting off her fair skin. He was very much remembering the feel of that skin from the night (and minutes) before.

Raven turning around and waving from the open doorway brought Draco back to reality from his rather arousing thoughts. "Bye Dray."

"Bye." And she was gone. And Draco was left with an erection to deal with. The morning erection heightened not only by the sight and thoughts of Raven, but by the thoughts of Potter as well. "Damn." So he got back out of bed, grabbed a towel, and went into the bathroom he shared with Blaise, Theo, and Graham. The Slytherin/Ravenclaw boys' dorm decided to divide the bathrooms by house, since there were an odd number of boys.

Thanking his strange new ability to wake up rather early, he slipped into the bathroom and locked the door. Turning on the water and letting it arrive at 'the perfect' temperature, he shucked off his boxers before stepping into the hot stream of water. Sighing at the heat as it hit his shoulders and back, he stood for a minute, relaxing in the thought that he would probably be stealing all of the hot water for the morning.

Grinning slightly, he grabbed the soap and started washing all over, trying to avoid the erection that he knew would need dealing with soon. Not that he was privy to denying himself the pleasure, it was just...well, to be honest with himself, he would have to admit that he was a feeling a little trepidation at the idea that Potter had helped create it. Did he want to think about Potter while wanking? The old part of him was screaming 'no!', but the other part...the part he had reason to suspect was his carnal and natural instincts that only being around Raven could spark into life...that part was saying, 'why the hell not? Might as well get used to the idea...and it's not like it'd be doing any harm...'

So that was how Draco found himself bracing an arm against the cool shower tiles, panting harshly, becoming physically sated from the forbidden thoughts of Raven and Potter flashing through his mind. There were no specifics, just flashes of memory and imagination...the feel of skin and hair and lips, the sounds of their voices, the desire to touch and feel and explore...it didn't matter with who, in fact, it could have been both at the same time, as long as it was him--Draco--doing the exploring.

Once he was finally back in his room, a secretive grin on his face, he thought, That has to be the best shower I have ever had.

~~~~~

Raven was quite content to sit dazedly through another History of Magic class when her daze was broken by a folded bit of parchment landing on her desk about halfway through. Lifting her head from her hand, she looked around quickly for who sent it to her. But finding no one looking in her direction, she quickly flicked the parchment open, being careful not to alert the teacher, who was, by no means, anything like oblivious Professor Binns back at Hogwarts. Although the subject was still boring as all hell.

The note read:

Raven,

Will you please meet me after class next to the portrait of Gwendel the Garish?

Neville Longbottom

Shooting a look at the boy a few seats to her right she caught him looking at her expectantly. Wondering what on earth the older ex-Gryffindor could have to say to her, but keeping it off her face, she nodded slightly. Raven knew that Neville couldn't be asking her for a date or any such thing; everyone knew that he was dating Luna, the still wide-eyed and kooky ex-Ravenclaw that served as her dorm representative. Maybe it has something to do with Harry...after all, they do live together...

And when she met Neville just after class near the aforementioned portrait, she found her latter suspicions to be correct.

"Are you dating Malfoy?" the usually shy boy blurted out, before Raven could even ask what he wanted.

Raven was immediately defensive. "Why do you want to know? What's it matter to you?"

"I...er...I was just wondering, because...I heard that you were, but-but I saw you with Harry yesterday, and I was..." The stuttering boy finally found his voice. "And I was making sure that you weren't just playing with Harry's feelings." His eyes got a slightly protective gleam in them that Raven found endearing, but didn't show it.

So she raised an arrogant eyebrow instead. "Not that what I do with Harry or Draco is any of your business, Longbottom, but no. Draco and I have an open relationship. Harry is currently just a friend."

"Open relationship? What does that mean?" Neville, thankfully, completely missed Raven's insinuation involving Harry and the word 'currently,' in favour of being confused over her other statement.

"What do you think it means, Longbottom?" she spat.

"Er...that you're...both free to date other people?" he said tentatively. He was starting to re-consider his earlier thoughts of her congeniality level.

Raven touched her nose. "Got it in one, Longbottom. Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a potions class to attend." And with that, she swept past him and into the next corridor. Hmm...I wonder if that was Harry's concern too...she wondered worriedly.

~~~~~

"Draco," Raven whispered as she plopped down between him and Blaise a few minutes later. "You're not going to believe what just happened."

"Ooh, what happened?" said Blaise excitedly from her other side, before Draco could respond.

Raven turned around in exasperation. "Blaise, it's not polite to eavesdrop on other people's conversations."

"When has politeness ever been a part of the Slytherin Code, Raven?" Draco drawled.

"Not the point, Dray. Now Blaise, if you could just turn your ears off for a few minutes..."

Blaise sat back, folding his arms over his chest and pouting. "Oh, fine, you evil, evil witch."

Raven smiled. "Is that really what you think of me Blaise?"

"Wha-" he said in confusion.

"She's saying, 'thanks for the compliment,' Zabini."

"But I wasn't-"

"Doesn't matter. Ears closed." Draco said snappishly. Blaise complied, pointing his wand at his head and muttering a quiet incantation. Satisfied that Blaise was indeed deaf for a few minutes, Raven turned back to Draco and started whispering feverously.

"Longbottom came to me just before class."

Draco made a non-committal grunt in the back of his throat.

"And he asked me if I was dating you. He says he saw me with Harry yesterday and wanted to make sure I wasn't 'playing with Harry's feelings.'"

"Okay...so, why are you telling me this?"

"Draco! Merlin," she shook her head in exasperation. "Because, there's a possibility that Neville was actually relaying Harry's feelings in the matter. So. You need to assess that, and make sure he doesn't feel like he's being played. It'll only hinder your progress with him."

"Oh. So you think Potter might feel all insecure about the situation?"

"Precisely. I probably would too, if suddenly my old school rival and his girlfriend started getting rather up-close-and-personal."

"So what did you tell Longbottom? About us?"

"I said we had an open relationship."

"Open, eh?"

"Yes. Does that offend you?"

Draco smirked. "No, actually. I mean, that's what we have at the moment."

Raven nodded. "So...you think you'll still be able to work with Potter?"

Draco grinned in a Cheshire way. "Oh, yes. I think it'll work perfectly with what I have planned for tonight."

~~~~~

Now, Draco wasn't exactly lying when he told Raven that Harry's possible insecurities would work with what he had had planned for that night, but to be honest, this wasn't going to be any different than the last time, except he wasn't hovering just outside Potter's window. This time, he was throwing pebbles to wake the other boy.

Just as Draco threw what must have been the tenth pebble, the window opened, (Finally! It's bloody freezing out here tonight...) and Harry appeared, getting said pebble right in the forehead.

"Ow!"

"Sorry, Potter!"

"Malfoy...what are you doing?" the Gryffindor asked in a weary sort of way, rubbing at the sore on his forehead.

"Well, I thought that throwing rocks to wake you up would be better, seeing as I scared you scarless last time."

Harry frowned at the 'scar' comment. "That wasn't what I meant. Why are you waking me up? Don't tell me you want another walk?"

"Yes, Potter, that's exactly what I want."

"And if I refuse? Tonight's a school night. I can't be spending the night traipsing about the forest with you."

"And why not? Look, Potter, would you rather I come inside and wake everyone else with our conversation?"

"Assuming I'm privy to a conversation with you at this un-godly hour..."

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing." Harry stood there for a moment in contemplation. "Okay, fine. But I'm coming down through the back door. I can be quiet enough. Last time, we left the window open and my room was freezing when I got back."

"Fair enough." So Draco waited, wishing that he had at least brought his heavy cloak, but he hadn't wanted it to get ruined in the woods, so he was stuck wearing an outfit identical to the one he had worn Saturday night.

Potter came out a minute later, fully dressed and wearing what looked like a heavy muggle jacket. Leave it to Potter to still be more comfortable in muggle clothing, Draco thought wryly. "Don't have a winter cloak, Potter?" he asked the dark-haired boy.

"No, I do. But I figured that we'd probably be going into the woods, and I didn't want it to get ruined." Draco raised an appraising eyebrow at the Gryffindor.

"Well, it seems as though we think alike, Potter."

"I suppose, but I'm not particularly fond of freezing, unlike you, so I wore a jacket." Then Harry fished a few items out of his jacket pocket and offered them to Draco. "Here."

"What's this?" Draco asked, trying to make out the items in the moonlight.

"Some gloves. I thought you might be rather cold in only a sweater and pants. And here," Harry took out another item, stepping forward to wrap it around Draco's neck a few times. "A scarf."

Draco was brought out of his musings of the rather intimate gesture when he actually looked at the scarf around his neck. He frowned. "But it's a Gryffindor scarf," he nearly whined.

"Well, what do you expect? It's the only scarf I have."

Draco immediately started unwrapping it, handing it back to Harry. "I don't think so, Potter. Not even for the sake of keeping warm, will I wear Gryffindor colours."

Harry snorted, wrapping the scarf around his own neck as Draco put on the gloves. "Have it your way, then." And the two set off down the now familiar path through the woods and to the alcove.

Once they arrived, Harry said, "We're early. Do you want to go down to the sand?"

"Er...sure. But how? That's a forty-yard drop. I'm not sure I could levitate us down that far."

"Well, seeing as I'm not particularly fond of levitating, it's a good thing there's a path. I noticed it when Raven brought me here yesterday."

"Raven? I didn't know she knew about this place."

"Yeah, I didn't either. It looks totally different in the daytime, too. But it's still amazing. I don't think Raven's ever seen it at night, though."

"Oh. Well...shall we?" Draco gestured forward.

"Sure." And Harry led the way to the rocky path that wound around the inside of the cliff wall, leading down to the white sand below. "Watch your step, it's really narrow."

"I can see that, Potter." Draco said through slightly clenched teeth, and was stunned when Harry turned slightly, holding a hand out to him. He took it warily, realising that the Gryffindor's inherent spontaneity was shifting the control of the situation away from Draco. Draco hadn't planned on being down in the sand that night, or holding hands with the messy-haired young man so soon, but it seemed to be working better than Draco would have thought.

"So..." Draco started as they crept down the path, "does Raven know that we've come here? I think she mentioned something about it to me yesterday, but I wasn't paying too much attention."

"Yeah, she knows. But I didn't tell her what happens at night, though. And what do you mean, that you weren't paying attention? Do you normally ignore the women you're in love with?"

"What? No, of course not. It's just...I was a little preoccupied at the moment."

"With what?"

"Merlin, Potter, aren't you a curious little bunny tonight."

"It's all part and parcel of the whole Gryffindor gig. You should know that by now."

"Yeah, well..."

The boys arrived on the sand, and Harry let go of Draco's hand, leading them to the centre, where he sat down and braced himself against a rock. Draco sat next to him, taking a breath to continue. "The thing I was preoccupied with was you, Potter."

"Me?"

"Yes. You and Raven. Nott said that he saw you two holding hands yesterday, and well, to be quite honest, I was a little pissed off about it."

"I...I'm sorry, Malfoy. I didn't mean to cut in on your territory. It's not like...I like her that way or anything..."

But Draco waved him off. "It's alright, Potter. We worked it out." They sat for a moment in the dark, waiting for the moon to catch up with them.

"Malfoy..."

"Yeah?"

"How do you feel about Raven's feelings for me? She told me you love her. Doesn't it bother you that she likes someone else as well?"

Draco sighed. "I do love her, Potter. I do. And yes, it bothers me. But...I'm...okay with it, I guess. Raven's an enigma...there's a lot about her that even I don't understand, although we've hardly been separated since the war."

"What do you mean?"

"Did you know that she's a painter, Potter?"

"Yes, actually. I saw a painting she did of the alcove in her foyer yesterday."

"Really? I don't remember seeing it...although I was rather irate at the time, so... But anyway, what I'm getting at is that she really only got into art while we were in sanctuary. It's one thing I haven't been a part of in her life since the war. And so...there's a lot I haven't had the chance to understand about her."

"Oh?"

"Yes. She...we...all of us, were...rather messed up, Potter. And that's putting it mildly. If it wasn't the incessant itching of our dark marks that was driving us mad, it was the thoughts of what we had done that was plaguing us. And we were stuck, unable to escape, even from ourselves. Dumbledore forbade us to leave the hospital wing. We had been practically brainwashed, and while I was dealing with and recovering from the unimaginable amount of shit my father cursed me with, Raven was trying to recover from her guilt and the loss of her parents."

"Her parents?"

"Yes. They're not dead or anything, but they were never supporters of the dark arts. They nearly disowned her when she took the dark mark. Although she's come to realise that they're just happy she came to her senses, there's still a lot of bad blood between them." Draco took a deep breath.

"You may not realise this Potter, but Raven, Blaise and I weren't just living it up in the infirmary while you were out there risking your life. Like I said before, we had all been brainwashed in a way, and the kind of attention we needed, not only physically, but emotionally and psychologically was intermittent at best. Everyone was so busy just trying to stay alive and helping those that were fighting, that no one had the time for three recovering Death Eaters." He paused. "We're all messed up. Still are. While Blaise slowly became more introverted, which later changed, Raven started writing and drawing to keep herself from insanity. And I guess...that's why things never changed between us, Potter. With you, I could find sanity...the normalcy I had had before I became a Death Eater. And that's why this conversation hasn't happened earlier. I was scared of too much change."

Both boys were silent for a long moment, while they both contemplated Draco's revelations. Meanwhile, the moonlight finally enveloped the alcove and the Dancing of the Lights started. Both boys looked up at the show, silent like the first time, until Draco heard a shuddery sigh escape Potter's lips. He looked over to see a few tears trailing their way down the boy's cheeks.

Draco took off his gloves and took a hold of Harry's hand in a comforting gesture. Harry looked down at the contact, a startled look on his face. Draco took the chance of speaking, and said in a whisper, "Potter, what's wrong?"

Harry gulped hard. "I just...I can't believe that the one person who's ever needed me, not just to kill Voldemort, or be their bloody saviour of the world...the one person who needed me to just keep being me, was...you." His breath hitched slightly, and Draco was suddenly drawn to the other boy, pulling him into a hug so fierce, that he surprised even himself.

Harry nearly collapsed against him, gripping Draco's hand hard, letting the tears leak out of his eyes as he squeezed them tightly shut. Although it was cold, and the hot liquid was burning Harry's cheeks, he paid it no mind. He was more concerned with what the Adonis holding him was thinking. Would he think he was a ponce for crying? Would he laugh and mock him? For some reason Harry didn't think so. He felt hot breath on the back of his neck, where the scarf failed to cover up, and he heard soothing, incoherent whispers. Even after his tears stopped, he sat there, letting his breath become steadier, his cheek pressed against the wool of Draco's sweater, and his hand gripped tightly by the other boy. He couldn't believe that he just broke down, yet again, in front of Malfoy. Pushing himself away, he released Draco's hand and fished in his pocket for a cloth to wipe his tear-spotted lenses with.

"Potter...Harry...are you alright?"

Harry smiled slightly. "I'm better, thank you. Sorry if I messed up your jumper."

"That's not important."

Harry finally looked at Malfoy. There was no look of disgust, or even pity on the ex-Slytherin's face. In fact, there was a small furrow in his brow, signalling that he was slightly worried about his companion. "Malfoy, I...Draco. Are you really willing to give up what sanity you've managed to keep by changing our relationship?"

Draco stared for a minute before he said, "I think I'll be alright, Potter. I've managed to deal with it. I think...I've been ready to finally let it be for a while now. It's...scary, I'm rather afraid to admit, that changing our relationship means getting rid of my so-called 'security blanket,' but...I'm game, if you are."

Harry smiled. "I'm game."

"Good."

They sat there for a few more moments, looking up at the sparkling lights above them, before Draco shivered. "I just realised how cold I am."

Harry shook his head, making an executive decision and un-wrapping the scarf from his own neck, shifting to kneel in front of Draco and wrap it around his. Draco started to protest, but Harry cut him off. "Don't be such an arse, Malfoy. It's the middle of the night, and we're in the middle of the woods. No one's going to see you." Draco muttered something unintelligible, but begrudgingly let Harry have his way.

Harry stood, holding out his hand to help Draco up. "C'mon. We should head back." Draco nodded and took Harry's hand, shoving the gloves he'd been given in his pocket.

Silently, they made their way back up the cliff wall and through the woods, never letting go of the other's hand.


Author notes: Review Responses

Wow...I get to do this for these chapters all over again... ^_^

BiancaBlack: Thank you for letting me know what chapter your review was for. ^_^ I had to re-upload, and forgot to change the thread number...oops! But hopefully, that's being fixed now. You're right, Raven is a piece of work, huh? Yes, although she's caused more problems than I'm willing to admit, I'm actually quite proud of her. She's caused more strong, good/bad reactions than I had expected. In reply to your question about Raven's emotions and desires motivating the story...it will be like that in a few instances, but the rest is all Draco and Harry. She isn't really around much, actually, which you'll see just as soon as I post the rest of the chapters. (I actually have up to chapter thirteen on fanficion.net, if you'd like to read ahead now...) Anyways, thanks for reviewing, and I'm looking forward to seeing your other thoughts on Raven's behaviour/motivations.

Kristel: Your right...those nicknames do sound a little more American(though Raven's had more Japanese influence) but they just popped into my head that way, and it stuck. *shrug* I'm sorry if it bothers you, but they're not in there very often if it's any consolation. Thank you for your review, and I'm happy that you think I'm portraying human emotions so well. That's what I'm going for.

mebmar: Thank you so much for your kind words! That's what I'm going for, so hopefully, I don't deviate at all...can't wait to hear from you again!

whitney112: Thank you for your review! Yeah, Ron and Hermione are getting married...and I'm glad you like Raven...she's always been a bit of a controversy. We'll see how it works out, huh?

Added (again, in case anyone's been missing it):04.09.06
Okay...I'm getting rather tired of everyone thinking that my story is a rip-off of "Cruel Intentions". I've written notes about this at FanFiction.net, but perhaps I forget here. I DID NOT INTENTIONALLY USE THE SAME PLOT. I totally forgot the movie existed, until someone pointed it out after I posted chapter five or so. Any similarities are COMPLETELY COINCIDENCE. So please stop telling me I'm ripping something off, when I had no intention of doing so. Besides, "Cruel Intentions" is a rip off of Dangerous Liaisons, an old play.