Decorus Draco

Chapter 9 - Fighting it

Draco slept soundly that night, though his dreams were invaded by beautiful green eyes and messy black hair and cuddling in the dark. In the morning, Draco was sickened and ashamed of himself. He ate his breakfast slowly, lost in thought. He ignored Blaise who was chatting nineteen to the dozen, and instead, sneaked glances at Potter every few minutes when the Gryffindor wasn't looking. Potter was talking to that sixth year, Barnes, again. Damn it, these days every time he looked at Potter that damn Barnes was around him. Touching him, holding his hand, whispering in his ear. Potter was supposed to be wooing Draco, and Barnes had no right to cling to Potter like that. And Potter seemed supremely unconcerned about Barnes' proximity.

Draco frowned. No, no, no. These were the thoughts he was trying to avoid. He didn't care who Potter hung around with. He didn't care for Potter in the least. This was just some sort of trick of Potter's and Draco would overcome it. Draco had decided that he would get back at Potter by humiliating him and his friends. That would hit Potter where it hurt the most. Potter was going down and Draco would be the one on top of him, gently caressing his face, rubbing against him... No, no, no, Potter was going down, and Draco would be the one to kick him in the ribs. Yes, that was better.

Draco waited as the students started trickling out of the Great Hall after breakfast. As he saw Potter and his groupies get ready to leave, Draco himself stood up and walked towards the door. He caught Potter just as he was outside the door, and gave him his patented Malfoy condescending look.

"A word, if you please, Potter. In private," said Draco, looking pointedly at Barnes, Weasley, and Granger, who had stopped, and were looking interestedly at Draco.

~~~~~

Harry was delighted at the thought of Draco speaking to him. He promptly told his friends to carry on, and followed Draco into an empty classroom. Once there, he looked expectantly at Draco.

Draco opened his school bag and removed a t-shirt from it. Harry recognised the t-shirt as the one that Draco had confiscated from him a couple of days ago. The sketch of the purring cat had been replaced with a sketch of a shiny silver snake on a throne. A lion lay sheepishly at the foot of the throne, looking up at the snake and salivating. The lettering on the shirt now read, 'Slytherins Rule. Gryffindors Drool.'

Harry frowned as Draco pushed the shirt towards him.

"I want you to wear this all day today, Potter."

"And why would I do that?" Harry asked, gritting his teeth.

"Well, you're wooing me, aren't you? Wear this all day and you get to kiss me. Anywhere you want. For as long as you want." Draco looked smugly at Harry, as if daring him to reject this offer.

Harry was torn. There was nothing he wanted more than to kiss Draco. In fact, right now, standing in such close proximity to the blond was driving Harry crazy. He clenched his fists to keep himself from lunging at the smirking Slytherin and ravishing him.

But to wear that t-shirt? That was disloyalty at its worst. Gryffindors were all about loyalty and wearing the shirt would alienate Harry from them.

What was more important? A chance to kiss Draco, and hopefully win his heart, or the opinions of his house mates who, to be honest, had turned their backs on him in the past. Harry remembered his second year when everybody was suspicious of him, thinking him to be the heir of Slytherin.

But wait a minute. What if Harry could have both, the kiss from Draco as well as the friendship of his housemates? Draco had merely asked him to wear the shirt, not display it. All he needed to do was wear his robes tightly over the t-shirt, and nobody would even know it was there. And he would get that delicious kiss from Draco at the end of it.

"Alright, I'll do it," said Harry. "But I get to kiss you anywhere I want if I wear the shirt all day, right?"

Draco grinned. "Anywhere you want, Potter. If you wear the shirt all day, you can meet me at the top of the Astronomy Tower after dinner. And you can kiss me anywhere on my person."

"It's a deal," said Harry, inwardly congratulating himself on his clever scheme. He reached for the shirt and took it from Draco, who didn't budge an inch.

"If you don't mind, Draco, I'm going to put this shirt on now. Unless you want to watch me undress."

Draco blushed and then snorted. "Like I would want to see you naked, Potter." Draco turned with a swish of his robes, not unlike Snape, Harry noted absently, and walked out of the classroom.

Once alone, Harry took off his robe, and substituted the shirt he was wearing for the one Draco had given him. He carefully buttoned his robe, making sure that no one could see what was under it. Putting his old shirt in his bag, he walked towards his next class.

~~~~~

At lunch, Draco noticed that Potter had cleverly done up his robes completely so that the shirt Draco had given him was not visible at all. Draco scowled. Obviously, his brain was so distracted by Potter that he had not thought through his plan clearly. Not a problem though. What he needed to do was to embarrass Potter, and he was determined to reveal the t-shirt before the day was done. It was time to put the famous Gryffindor loyalty to the test.

~~~~~

Harry was feeling extremely pleased with himself. The entire day had gone without incident, and he was in his last class, Herbology. He had worn the t-shirt all day, and in just a couple of short hours, he would be snogging Draco in the Astronomy Tower. It was too good to be true. Harry excitedly planted the Krarelum in his gloved hands in an earthen pot, taking care not to let the extract stain any part of him. He was almost done when Lavender Brown bumped into him, dropping the flask of Krarelum extract all over Harry's robes.

"Oh, I'm sorry, Harry," Lavender said, not looking sorry at all. "Let me get these robes off, the extract is a permanent dye, and will seep through your clothes to your skin if we don't get it off."

Harry protested, but Hermione, who was nearby, nodded her agreement and tapped her wand once, muttering a disrobing spell. Harry's robes slid effortlessly to the ground.

The entire class, whose attention had been drawn to Harry after the collision with Lavender, gasped as they noticed Harry's shirt for the first time. Harry stood like a deer caught in headlights, eyes wide as he saw the looks of his house mates go from surprise to disbelief and then anger.

Harry stared around the class, and his gaze came to rest on Lavender, who unlike the others, had a guilty look on her face.

"You did this on purpose, didn't you?" Harry hissed at Lavender.

"Harry, I'm sorry, Malfoy...he said it was a prank. I didn't want to do it but he...he purred, and I couldn't think straight. I couldn't refuse him. I'm so sorry, I didn't know..."

"What's that you're wearing, Harry?" That was Seamus and he was definitely not happy.

"I'm sorry, it was a dare," Harry mumbled, not ready to look at the disgusted looks his house mates were giving him.

"Well, we're glad we finally know what you think about Gryffindors," said Dean, and a chorus of voices added on to his.

"Why hide it under your robes, Harry? If that's what you feel, wear it proudly. In fact, you'd better make sure everybody can see it at dinner, wouldn't want anyone to miss this."

"Yeah, let all of Hogwarts know what a traitor Harry Potter really is."

"Is there no depth you wouldn't sink to for Malfoy, Harry?"

"That's enough," Ron finally shouted. "Just lay off Harry, all of you."

Hermione stood next to Harry and glared defiantly at the rest of the class as well.

The other Gryffindors just turned their backs on Ron and Hermione as well, leaving the trio to finish their work in silence.

~~~~~

After class, Harry ran to his dormitory and put on a different robe, but Seamus had pulled it open just as Harry sat down to dinner, leaving Harry's shirt for all of Hogwarts to see.

The Great Hall buzzed with talk of how Harry Potter was so crazy for Draco Malfoy that he would do just about anything to appease him. Whispers floated by that if Malfoy asked Harry to become a Death Eater, Harry would gladly agree. All over the hall, students were whispering and pointing at Harry, and the Slytherins looked on at the spectacle with unmasked glee.

Harry sat quietly and ate his dinner, flanked by Ron and Hermione. Eliot, Ginny, and the Creevies sat by Harry loyally, and were ostracised by the rest of the Gryffindors for it.

Harry felt like it was second year all over again. He looked over at Draco, who surprisingly enough, was not cackling in glee like his fellow Slytherins. He looked almost sorry, and quickly looked away as Harry caught his eye. Harry bit his lip and continued with his dinner, smiling small smiles at his few remaining friends.

~~~~~

Draco took a deep breath and opened the door to the little room at the top of the Astronomy Tower. He knew Potter was already in there; dinner was done a short while ago. He cast a quiet 'Lumos' and looked around the tiny, but comfortable room.

Potter was sitting on a cushioned seat next to one of the big windows in the room. His eyes darted towards Draco for an in instant and then he looked back out of the window. 'Nox,' said Draco quietly, realising that there was sufficient moonlight in the little room to be able to see. The light at the tip of his wand went out.

In the pale moonlight, Potter looked so...delicate and vulnerable. Seeing him like that broke something deep within Draco, and it took him everything he had not to walk over to the bench and take the pensive boy in his arms. Draco stood where he was, waiting for Potter to collect his 'reward.'

Potter continued looking out of the window for a while, before turning to Draco.

"That wasn't very nice of you, making me wear that offensive shirt and then getting Lavender to drop the dye on my robes. Not very nice, but very Malfoyish. Very Slytherin. Was it worth it for you? Did it make you happy? Was it fulfilling for you to see the Golden Boy of Gryffindor shunned by the rest of his house?"

Potter's quiet voice almost broke Draco's resolve to be mean to the Gryffindor. Almost. After all, Draco reminded himself, a Malfoy is nothing if not untouchable and imperturbable. He would not allow his newly discovered feelings for Potter to soften him.

"It was certainly amusing, Potter. Especially since you did it so willingly. The question is, is it worth it for you? Is being able to kiss me worth going against your housemates?"

Potter turned back to look out of the window. "I sometimes ask myself that. Is any of it worth it? What are you doing to me, Draco? What's happening to me?"

Draco began to feel annoyed. "Don't blame for not being able to control your hormones, Potter. You wanted something and you paid the price. Now, are you going to collect, or should I just go back to the dungeons?"

Potter turned to stare at Draco for what seemed like a long time. Finally he got up from the seat, and started walking towards Draco.

"I can kiss you anywhere I like? For as long as I like?"

"Yes, that was the deal, and I am a man of my word."

By now, Potter was standing about a foot away from Draco. He reached out and ran a finger down Draco's cheek. Draco found it difficult to keep breathing steadily as Potter's finger traced his lips.

"As for your question, Draco, I think you're worth it." Potter's voice was soft and as he stepped forward and placed a gentle kiss on Draco's lips, Draco found Potter's lips even softer.

Draco fought every urge within him to kiss Potter back, and kept his lips tightly closed. Potter placed gentle kisses on Draco's lips, and all over Draco's face. Draco felt Potter's left hand encircling his waist and pulling them closer together. Draco stood rigidly, fighting the desire to give in, to let Potter have what he wanted, to let himself have what he wanted.

After a few more teasingly sweet kisses on Draco's face and lips, Potter reached down and took a hold of both of Draco's hands. He kissed the other boy's knuckles, before placing a final kiss on Draco's lips, and stepping back.

Draco managed to keep his voice smug even though his heart was aching with the sheer tenderness of Potter's kisses. But that was not something he would allow Potter to know.

"Is that it then? Are you done collecting your reward? I would have expected something a lot more passionate from you. But then, you are the symbol of everything that is good and decent in the world, aren't you? I shouldn't really be surprised."

"I didn't want to...that was all I wanted. Look Draco, I..." Potter took a deep breath and bit his lip. "I just want you to let me...let me care for you. That's all. And...thank you for the kiss."

Potter brushed Draco's cheek with the back of his hand, and turned to leave.

"Good night, Draco," said Potter, walking towards the door. In a couple of swift paces, he had reached the door. "You're worth it," Potter said softly, not looking back at Draco as he opened the door and left the room, shutting the door behind him.

Finally alone, Draco ran a hand through his hair, and walked over to the seat that Potter had vacated just a few moments earlier.

He traced his lips with his own fingers, remembering the feel of Potter's hands and lips on them.

"No I'm not, Harry. You're the only one that's worth it. I am completely unworthy of you."

Draco broke down then, sobs racking his body as he turned into his Cattus form and curled around himself.

~~~~~