Decorus Draco

Chapter 10 - Draco's dilemma

Draco woke up early the next morning, cold and shivering in the little room atop the Astronomy Tower. He groaned as he got up and walked towards the dungeons.

This would not do at all.

Perhaps Snape was right and Harry really was his soul mate. But if that was true, what did it mean for him? His father would never allow them to be together. Draco still hadn't replied to Lucius' letter, not quite knowing what to say to him. What would he tell his father? 'Yes, Father, the rumours are quite true; I'm gay, I have been shagging Blaise, and both he and the Boy Who Lived are currently wooing me. Oh, and I allowed Potter to kiss me last night, and it was the sweetest kiss of my life and I just might be falling in...well, beginning to care for him, at least.' He was sure that that would go down really well with his father.

But Harry...what was he to do about Harry? Draco knew he had to talk to him, he wasn't sure what he would say to him, whether he would punch the daylights out of him or snog him into oblivion, but he had to meet Harry. Part of Draco wanted to hurt Harry, to humiliate him, to punish him for what he was doing to Draco, but the other part, his soft, furry side, just wanted to hold Harry close and never let go. Draco sighed loudly as he walked back to his dormitory.

Draco got back to his room, busied himself for a couple of hours and finally went down for breakfast, wondering how he would look Harry in the eye and maintain his cool reserve.

Finally reaching the Great Hall, Draco nodded aristocratically to greet his fellow Slytherins before sitting down. He was soon inundated with questions that his house mates had been too shocked to ask the previous night.

"Is it true that Potter is now your sex slave? Does he do anything you tell him to?"

"Will you be taking him to Malfoy Manor for the holidays? What does your father say about it?"

"I can't believe you finally broke Potter. You truly are the Prince of Slytherin."

"What did you do to him? Is he really willing to bend to your every whim?"

"Tell us what happened with Potter!"

Draco merely lifted his hand, and silence fell around the table.

"Malfoys don't kiss and tell," he said with a smirk. "Whatever happens between me and Potter stays between me and Potter."

To which Blaise, who was sitting next to Draco, promptly asked, "Draco, did something really happen between you and Potter?"

Draco merely winked and said, "Wouldn't you like to know?"

Blaise smiled a tight lipped smile and continued with his breakfast.

That morning's owl post brought another neatly wrapped package from Blaise, as well as an extremely untidily packed package. Draco could just guess whom that was from.

Draco opened Blaise's package first, and found a beautiful silk cloak inside. It had intricate designs sewn into it, and Draco could feel strong magic emanating from the cloak. It had a strange and soothing magical hum to it.

He looked at Blaise with a raised eyebrow, and asked, "You put spells on the cloak?"

Blaise grinned widely. "Some of the strongest protective spells I know. It took me a while to complete it, so I hope you like it. It should help in keeping you safe no matter where you are."

Draco looked back at the cloak appreciatively. "It's beautiful, Blaise, thank you." So saying, Draco leaned forward intending to give Blaise a kiss, but just at that moment his eyes caught Harry's across the hall, and he found that he couldn't do it. He couldn't kiss Blaise, not in front of Harry, not when those emerald eyes were staring deep into his own from across the room, pleading with him not to. Draco sat back abruptly, pretending to adjust his seat. Blaise frowned at Draco and bit his lip, looking extremely disappointed.

Draco then turned his attention to the second package he had received. He opened it to reveal a silver wristwatch. There was a note with it.

Draco,

The watch has a built-in voice recording device. It also serves as a portkey but I won't tell you when it will activate or where it will take you. Just wear it, and if my calculations are right, it will activate before the day is over. I hope you enjoy the surprise.

Yours,

Harry

PS. Thank you for last night.

Draco turned back to the Muggle device and began playing with the buttons on it. He soon figured out how to record sound and play back the recordings. Draco was completely intrigued with it, and continued playing with the device right through breakfast. He finally put it on his wrist, noticing that it looked rather nice on his hand.

After breakfast, he walked towards the doors of the Great Hall with Blaise, his other friends following closely behind. He had almost reached the doors when the sight before him caused him to stop sharply.

Harry and Barnes were right outside the doors. Draco felt his temper rising at seeing the two of them together. Barnes said something to Harry, then put his arms around him and hugged him, followed by a kiss on the cheek. Draco clenched his fists. Harry merely smiled a small smile. Barnes finally released Harry and said, loud enough for Draco to hear, "Don't forget that I'm here for you no matter what, Harry. Take care. I'll see you later."

Draco could not stop the hiss that managed to escape from his lips as Barnes walked away, and a very surprised looking Harry turned to look at Draco. Harry's face immediately broke into a smile.

"Draco!" Harry exclaimed. "Did you like my gift?" Harry paused then, and his eyes narrowed. "Or was Zabini's gift better? I noticed how happy you were with his gift. You almost kissed him."

Draco gritted his teeth. Was the kiss from Barnes not enough for Harry? Draco seethed inside, determined not to show Harry how much that had annoyed him. "Well, I'll just have to see how good your gift is when the portkey activates, won't I? And if it does anything stupid like I completely expect it to do, you lose the right to woo me, is that understood, Potter?" Draco said, in what he hoped was a nonchalant manner.

Harry scowled and nodded before turning and walking away.

~~~~~

At the High table, Professor Snape turned to the headmaster.

"Well, that was interesting," said Severus.

"Yes, it was," Albus replied. "I hope the boys know what they are doing. I'm not sure how this is going to end, but I have a feeling Harry will not take lightly to any interference from us."

Severus Snape smirked. "I think Blaise Zabini has more to fear than anyone else at this point. It's no secret that Potter's highly unstable."

"I trust Harry to do the right thing," said Albus. "He will not harm anyone unnecessarily. And I will be more than willing to help him if he comes to me."

"Help him in what way?" asked Severus, the smirk still on his lips. "Will you give him a room just for himself and Draco so that they can have all the privacy they need? With hidden two-way mirrors so that we can keep an eye on them?"

Severus' eyes got a strange gleam at that, and Albus narrowed his eyes. "Of course not, Severus, I would only help with advice, of course."

"Ahh, of course," said Severus, turning back his breakfast, before muttering something that sounded suspiciously like 'Killjoy.'

~~~~~

Harry had been practicing Occlumency every night, and he was feeling a lot more confident about his skills. His lessons with Snape were making him stronger, and last night, he had successfully resisted the greasy professor's attempts to get into his head. Harry could feel the professor trying to break his defences, but Harry summoned all his strength and pushed Snape out of his head before the professor could see what was running over and over in Harry's head - that bitter-sweet kiss with Draco. So sweet and so tender, but so frustrating because Draco had not responded in the slightest. But that was a memory Harry would not allow anyone to see, least of all his Potions professor whom he still disliked, even though he knew he was on his side in the big picture.

Unfortunately, Harry pushed too hard, and found himself in a memory of Professor Snape's. It involved Madam Hooch and a Firebolt, and Harry let go immediately, not wanting to see any more. He had found himself in a similar one of Snape's memories once before, and he had avoiding riding his broomstick for three days after that. Snape glared at Harry for a minute, before telling him that he was getting stronger and letting him go for the day.

Harry walked out of Snape's office, trying desperately to forget what he had seen in Snape's head, and choosing to focus on Draco instead. Now that Harry was more in control of his magic, he could resist the pull towards the Decorus of his dreams. Harry still found the blond unbelievably attractive, but found himself more and more capable of rational thought when the Slytherin was around. He found himself able to take control of his hormones and hopefully, not make a complete imbecile out of himself. He found that he still wanted the blond though, and was willing to do a lot to get him.

Harry walked towards his DADA class with Ron and Hermione, hoping that his surprise would not disappoint Draco.

He stepped into the class and took his regular seat at the front of the class, next to Hermione, while Ron sat with Neville.

Harry turned his attention towards Nicole Martin, the pretty young DADA teacher whom everybody liked. Half of the boys at Hogwarts had big crushes on the pretty professor, and surprisingly, the girls liked her immensely as well.

"Good morning, class," said Nicole, smiling widely. "The spell I will be teaching you today requires you to pair up. We will be learning the power joining spell. As most of you know, what matters most in any war is being able to rely on your comrades when you need them. The power joining spell allows a temporary sharing of power, leaving the caster powerless while the person on whom the spell is cast is empowered with all the magical strength of the caster. The spell normally lasts only a few minutes, but can be immensely useful in critical situations. I want you to select partners and cast the spell."

Once the class had paired up, Professor Martin showed them the wand movements and taught them the incantation.

'Adjungo Potentia,' said Harry, pointing his wand at Hermione. Nothing happened. He tried the spell several times, but with the same response.

On her third try, Hermione managed to get the spell to work. Harry felt a tremendous energy pouring through him, and his mind was filled with the names of spells he never knew existed. He easily transfigured his quill into a mouse and back, and easily conjured the largest and most beautiful patronus he had ever created. A few short minutes later, however, he felt the power surge leave him, and when he attempted to transfigure his quill, it merely turned into a quill with a squiggly tail.

Hermione, who had slumped back in her chair after casting the spell, slowly came to, and her eyes shone excitedly. "I did it, Harry," she said, followed closely by, "Come on, we have to make sure you can cast the spell too."

Professor Martin allowed the class to practice the spell for a short while longer, after which she had them return to their seats and open their text books.

~~~~~

Harry walked into the last class of the day, Potions, almost at the same time as Draco and his friends. Crabbe and Goyle hadn't got into NEWT level Potions, and Blaise and Pansy were Draco's only friends there. Amy Zinger, who had clung to Draco ever since the beginning of the year, had started giving Draco the cold shoulder ever since Harry's outburst in the Great Hall. Draco sat in his usual seat, and just as Blaise was about to sit next to him, Harry, who was directly behind the two, shoved Blaise rudely and sat in his seat with a wicked smile on his face. Blaise stumbled for a couple of steps before regaining his balance.

Draco merely rolled his eyes and looked back to see Blaise frown and sit beside Pansy. Harry looked particularly smug, and Draco had to fight the urge to smile.

Snape swept into the classroom and turned to face the class. His face twisted into a smirk at seeing Harry sitting in Blaise's regular seat.

"Decided to change your seating arrangements, Potter?"

Harry bit his lip and didn't say anything.

Snape continued. "What's the matter, Potter? Cat got your tongue?" Draco turned to look at Harry, who was beginning to look rather annoyed.

"I don't mind your sitting there as long as you don't do anything catastrophic," Snape continued.

Harry's jaw tightened.

"We will be learning about catalysts today, so I suggest you pay attention and catalogue everything I say and try to control yourself so that you don't hurt anybody with your little accidents.

Harry's eyes had now narrowed to slits. "That's very kind of you, Sir, I'll try to control myself. You know how I tend to say or do things I'm not supposed to when I get upset. Let out secrets I'm not supposed to."

Snape's smile vanished.

"You're out of place, Mr. Potter. Ten points from Gryffindor."

"For what?" asked Harry, now visibly angry.

"For your cheek, Mr. Potter. And if you say a word more, it will be detention with Filch."

"That's not fair!" Harry exclaimed.

"Detention tomorrow at -"

"I think that's quite unnecessary, Professor," Draco found himself hissing.

Snape looked over at Draco, who had turned into his Cattus form once again.

"I...um...of course, Draco, you're right. It is unnecessary."

"And will you give back the points you took from Gryffindor too?" Draco was purring now.

"Points? I took points from Gryffindor? I give them back. No points taken from Gryffindor. Anything else you want, Drakey?"

Draco put a furry paw to his mouth and chuckled. "No, that's all I need for now, Professor. Oh, and please, could you not call me 'Drakey?'"

"Of course, Drakey-o. Draco. Anything you say, Draco." Snape was smiling an eerie smile now, his yellowing teeth in full view.

Draco was about to respond when Weasley, who had been sitting on the other side of Harry, jumped out of his seat, and moved forward to touch Draco.

"Stay away from me, Weasley!" Draco yelled.

"But I...so pretty...pretty kitty...just want to touch..." Weasley mumbled before Harry pushed him back into his seat, looking rather furious.

Draco turned around to see almost every student in the class drooling over him as if he was a delicious ice-cream on a hot summer's day. A few students started making their way towards Draco, muttering similar nonsense as Weasley, about kitties and touching, and Draco felt an uncontrollable rage. He closed his eyes and focussed all his power on preventing the students from reaching him, and when he opened his eyes, he found every single student, with the exception of Harry, Blaise, and Pansy, back in his or her seat, apparently stuck to it. Snape, too, was stuck to the teacher's table.

"Shh, it's okay, Draco, calm down." Harry's voice floated into Draco's ears, as Harry gently caressed Draco's furry face with his hand. Draco immediately felt a peacefulness wash over him, and he took several deep breaths. The blond fur slowly disappeared and in a few minutes, he was back to his human form, and the trapped professor and students were released. They all looked very confused now, and were shaking their heads, as if trying to suss out what had just happened.

Snape cleared his throat and turned to the class. "Ahem...yes, where were we? Right. Catalysts. Everybody turn to page six hundred and fifty three."

Draco continued taking deep breaths as the pounding in his ears ceased and his heartbeat slowed down. He turned to Harry, who gave him a soft smile, and squeezed his hand. Draco smiled back at Harry, and did not comment when Harry left his hand on Draco's for the remainder of the class.

~~~~~