Cornered Again

~*~

'Damn. Cornered again.'

Draco glared defiantly at Harry, determined to show Potter he wasn't scared.

Harry just grinned at him, eyes sparkling in a playful manner. He had been having so much fun all week. Thinking of Monday threatened to dampen his mood and he wanted to make the best of what he had until then. But then again, who knew if Monday would mean the end to this new-found fun? At least twice a day Harry had found himself planning, plotting and scheming in his own evil little way.

It had all begun the week before when Ron, Hermione and Harry had almost literally fallen into the Gryffindor common room, laughing hysterically....

* * * * *

Harry had never thought Hermione capable of such malicious glee. It was like a sadistic side unknown to anyone had been let loose for a few minutes, surprising them all. When they questioned her about it, she tried to calm herself and smile innocently. However, she gave herself away in the way her lips twitched, trying to smirk.

"He deserved everything he got with the way he's been behaving all these years. Especially the way he treats house-elves!"

A few minutes of friendly banter ensued, Hermione trying to berate the boys for being so unfeeling about her passionate cause. Unfortunately, she was unable to muster her usual dark and forboding frown, still thinking back triumphantly to the look on Malfoy's face.

"Having his wand confiscated for a whole week though, that was kind of harsh," Harry commented, sobering slightly for a minute.

"Why?" Ron asked, face scrunching up slightly in an expression of confusion and distaste.

"Well, even if it is Malfoy, he can't exactly defend himself against anyone properly, can he?" Harry shifted uncomfortably, blushing slightly.

He could clearly picture in his mind the hole he was digging for himself. He sincerely wished it could actually materialise so he could dive in and hide from the questioning looks on his friends' faces. His eyes had strayed to the fireplace behind Hermione halfway through his defence of Malfoy, the Evil Slimy Slytherin Git From Hell. When he dared to look across at Ron again, he wasn't sure he liked what he saw.

Ron's eyes had taken on an unhealthy and sinister twinkle, wide and unfocused, staring at something far in the distance. He was grinning so widely Harry was sure he could count the majority of his best friend's teeth. Glancing at Hermione, Harry noticed a wary expression, similar to his own.

"Ron?" Hermione locked eyes with Harry and frowned before looking back at Ron again.

His expression didn't change, but he answered her worried question, even though his eyes were still unfocused and he seemed far away from reality.

"I just had...the best idea ever."

Harry took a cautious step towards Ron and reached carefully for his arm, as if approaching a scared and cornered animal. Which was stupid really, Harry thought, as Ron was being kind of creepy and scaring them. Not the other way around.

Suddenly, Ron's eyes fell on Harry, finally focusing on his friend. His grin seemed to widen even more, if that was physically possible.

"What's the best way to humiliate Malfoy and get him back for all the stunts he's pulled? All the times he's ever caused us trouble?"

Harry frowned, not fully following his friend's train of thought. Malfoy's wand had been confiscated. Hurrah! A quiet week ahead for them, seeing as Malfoy couldn't deflect hexes. Hopefully, that meant he would be wise enough to avoid any situations where he might provoke them and push them too far.

"Are you trying to kick him while he's down?" Hermione asked incredulously. "Where's the honour in that? It just doesn't seem fair. No matter how annoying he is."

His eyes wide, Harry was glad someone knew Ron as well as he did, to fill in the blanks when he couldn't quite understand their red-headed friend. He had never even thought of kicking Malfoy while he was down, as Hermione had so eloquently put it. He had always walked away, figuring Malfoy was humiliated and infuriated enough. Hermione was right; it didn't seem fair. After all, they were brave and noble Gryffindors. And Hermione was always right.

"What else?" Ron asked, rolling his eyes.

"But how?" Harry was curious, yet more than ready to flat out refuse to do whatever Ron had planned. Hermione simply rolled her eyes at them both.

"What have you always wanted to do to the git? Surely you have one dark little fantasy about the ultimate humiliation? The final punishment for everything he has ever done to us and everyone around us?"

Harry's eyes glazed over. Did Ron have to use those words? That low, almost seductive voice? Of course he had a dark fantasy about Malfoy! Quite a few in fact. However, most of them, if not all, usually involved a lot of snogging.

Oh yes, he had had many internal discussions whilst he had been growing up about kissing girls, having plenty of unanswered questions. The main one was ultimately always how it felt, what it was like. Then he had kissed Cho, bringing even more questions to the fore of his mind. He had wondered what it was like to kiss boys, and then rebelled against his own mind, resolutely determined to ignore his insane thoughts. They were quite possibly all stress-induced and normal for everyone anyway. But it had not been a passing phase, and he had developed a strange, and very different, fascination for Malfoy.

At first, he had thought the reason he kept thinking about Draco Malfoy was because he was such an annoying git. Unfortunately, his thoughts soon became full of Draco Malfoy during meals, lessons and even games of wizarding chess with Ron, as well as being the last thing he thought of before falling into slumber and the first thing he thought of in the morning. It was a good job Ron had already pegged him as a useless fool when it came to chess, otherwise he would have begun wondering why his friend was so easy to beat. And questions would have been asked, questions which Harry would be hard-pressed to answer truthfully.

Then the daydreaming had begun. Strange little scenarios that occurred to him, at random, when his mind began to wander. However, it had not stopped at polite small talk. It had quickly moved onto meeting up together to play one-on-one Quidditch, then to buying sweets from Honeydukes and sharing their goodies, and finally onto sharing the chocolates through other, more pleasurable, ways. In other words, Harry's hormones caused his brain to kick into high gear whenever he fantasised about dining out with Draco, causing his innocent daydreams to morph into fantasies of dining out with Draco as the main course.

"Harry!"

He blinked as two fingers tapped sharply across his cheek.

"What?" he muttered, annoyed at being slapped and embarrassed at having zoned out so obviously.

"Hermione thought you were doing the same thing I, apparently, did a minute ago." Ron glared slightly at Hermione, pouting childishly.

Hermione shook her head in exasperation at the pair of them, turning to gather her homework and make up for all the time she had spent earlier giggling over Malfoy's punishment. Never again would she allow herself to show such Hufflepuffiness. And yes, it was a word.

"I think I've got the perfect idea," Harry said, his grin now matching Ron's.

"What? What? Come on, tell me!"

"Sorry Ron, I think this'll work best if I do it alone."

Harry looked apologetically at Ron, watching as his face fell.

"Just trust me. Please?"

Harry was desperate to try his idea out, but he didn't want Ron to get upset with him. Their friendship had been rocky at times, and he was always worried that they would fall out about something and then never talk again. They were best friends and Harry never wanted to lose that. Especially over a stupid obsession with Malfoy, their school nemesis, of all people!

Ron stood, thinking carefully for a few moments, his brow furrowed slightly.

"Alright, I trust you and won't ask. But one day you'll tell me, right?"

Harry faltered, suddenly running a few scenarios through his head. Each one ended with him, sometimes alongside Draco, being chased by a furious Ron. Some also involved weapons, and that was worrying. Resisting the urge to shudder at the mental images dredged up by his imagination, Harry plastered a fake enthusiastic grin on his face.

"Of course! I'm just going to go to the dorm and do some planning. Just in case."

Sharing a final grin with Ron, Harry bid farewell to Hermione, who was already immersed in her books, and wandered towards the boys dorm, deep in thought. He now had to work out how he would make his plan work and try to think of something to tell Ron. He could avoid lying to him, which was good, and just hope he could distract Ron each time he went fishing for details. He was going to be in for a sleepless night.

* * *

The very next day, Harry put his plan in motion, intending to take full advantage of the upcoming week. At breakfast he was practically buzzing with energy, hardly eating anything, he was in such a state of nervous anticipation. For the first time during his life at Hogwarts, he found himself looking forward to their Potions lesson. It was an amazing, yet strange, experience. Of course, his friends noticed and gave him concerned looks, bombarding him with questions whenever he tuned into their conversation.

"Harry? What is wrong with you? You've hardly eaten anything! Are you feeling ill?"

"Was it a dream from You-Know-Who?" Ron asked fearfully.

"No, no! I'm fine, honestly!" Harry smiled reassuringly at them both. "I'm just...looking forward to Potions."

Hermione and Ron stared at him in disbelief, their eyes widening as their jaws fell slack. Harry grinned sheepishly and slouched down slightly where he sat.

"Look, it's just because I've finally worked out how to get back at Malfoy today. I can't wait to see the look on his face when he sees what I do."

Ron looked slightly relieved at his explanation, but Hermione turned back to her breakfast with an unsure look on her face. She wasn't certain if she should convince them to leave the defenceless Malfoy alone, leave them to it and turn a blind eye, or cheer them on. It was a battle between her morals and her own guilty pleasure. In the end, her moralistic view on the world won out - just - and she sighed.

"Are you sure it won't bother you, knowing he can't fight back?"

"Of course I am," Harry replied.

Hermione shrugged. She'd tried one last time at least, but they were not going to be swayed from getting their revenge.

Throughout the day, Harry found it increasingly hard to concentrate on his lessons, his anxiety doubling as he watched time slowly trickling by. When double Potions with the Slytherins finally rolled around, he was twitching nervously at times, playing around with his quill as an outlet for his build-up of nervous energy.

Potions seemed to drag by. However, there were, luckily, no major incidents and they only lost five points for Gryffindor when Harry clumsily dropped his inkwell on the stone floor. Snape had swooped down on him, eager to deduct points and insult him. Finally, the lesson ended and Harry frantically packed away his things and waited just outside the door, telling Ron and Hermione to leave without him. And not to worry.

He waited impatiently, watching carefully as everyone filed out of the classroom. His heart leapt as Malfoy left, flanked as always by Crabbe and Goyle. He stepped calmly in front of the blonde Slytherin, trying to ignore the butterflies in his stomach and the tightness in his throat.

"Malfoy. I want to talk. In private."

He eyed them determinedly, watching as Malfoy's bodyguards blinked. Draco frowned and then nodded slowly.

"I'll see you both later," he declared calmly.

Crabbe and Goyle lingered a few moments, assessing the level of danger, before they eventually left.

Fortunately, Snape had already returned to his private room, so Harry quickly grabbed Malfoy by the wrist and dragged him back into the classroom. He felt the Slytherin resist at first, obviously not happy at being manhandled by him. He simply tightened his grasp on Draco, the contact of skin on skin, as small as it was, sending a slight tingly jolt all around his body. When they were inside, Harry turned back and reluctantly dropped Malfoy's wrist so he could close the door.

That done, he paused and put his head to one side, contemplating the pros and cons of locking the door. In the end, he shrugged and pivoted neatly on the spot, smoothly removing his wand from his pocket as he moved.

His eyes darkened, anticipation and excitement rushing through his blood, making him feel slightly dizzy and light-headed. He slowly advanced on Malfoy, watching as his prey frowned and took a half step back.

It seemed the Slytherin was determined to show him he wasn't afraid, yet Harry could tell Draco was definitely worried. He could guess what the blonde was thinking, trying to understand what he was up to. He had insisted they be alone, so there would be no witnesses, no one to watch him gloat over Draco's humiliation. The distinct lack of curses was unnerving, obviously being delayed for some reason unknown to Malfoy so far. And the very sudden predatory look. It probably bordered on hungry, Harry assumed.

Malfoy was in fact thinking along these lines, taking small unsure steps back between the two benches, trying to buy himself more time to think of something he could do or say without provoking Potter into doing something particularly harmful. Soon, though, he was backed up against the wall, cold rough stone pressing against his back, sparkling dark green eyes a mere two feet away. He was unable to think of anything foolproof, of the tried and tested variety, in the face of this new side to his childhood rival.

Harry paused for a few seconds, a grin creeping across his face as his excitement peaked. He took one bold step forward, invading Malfoy's personal space. He was nose to nose with Draco, could feel the other tensing even though they weren't touching yet. He held his wand in his left hand, holding it in Draco's peripheral vision, close to a pale cheek. Harry watched as a bead of sweat trickled slowly down to Draco's temple, trying to imagine what it would taste like.

Draco's teeth were gritted, a near-desperate and insecure look in his eyes as he frantically tried to gauge Potter's expression. He couldn't fathom what the Gryffindor was thinking, however, and just hoped that whatever Potter had planned would be over soon. His muscles tensed even further as Potter leaned in, his body trying to force itself into motion - fight or flight.

Harry licked at the single bead of sweat, felt Draco's chest press against his as the Slytherin inhaled sharply. He leaned back again, grinning in a tipsy-yet-not-quite-drunk manner, watching giddily as Malfoy's jaw hung open in shock and horror. Unable to resist any longer, Harry took that last step forward, pushing the blonde into the wall and claiming his lips with a passionate force.

Their bodies were pressed close together, one of Harry's knees pushed lightly between Draco's. The Slytherin's body was frozen in shock as Harry kissed him hungrily, using his tongue to try to tease and provoke Draco into responding. His right hand wrapped around Draco's neck, just under his jaw bone, his fingertips lightly stroking the skin tenderly.

The sensations of the harsh kiss and the soft touch were so strange, so contrasting. Draco was stunned to the spot, unable to concentrate on anything, never mind form a coherent thought. Blindly, in a delayed reflexive response, Draco pushed him away angrily. He was breathing deeply, having just had his breath stolen away from him. He glared at Harry, furious. He momentarily forgot that he was without a wand, while Harry still held his own tightly, knuckles white.

"What do you think you're doing?" Draco demanded.

Harry shrugged, still feeling light-headed and ecstatic from his first kiss with Draco. Malfoy's eyes widened in disbelief as he floundered for something to say.

"Why?"

Again, Harry shrugged. Draco resisted the urge to shake the useless prat and gritted his teeth, eyes flashing dangerously in the torch light as he moved away from Harry.

"Potter, if you don't explain yourself right now, I'm going straight to Snape."

Harry considered this for a minute.

"Well, why not? It's not as if you can do anything about it. And I felt like it."

"What about the fact that I didn't want it?" Malfoy growled, fists by his sides as he bristled with anger.

Harry's expression sobered, his eyes hardening slightly as the grin fell from his face. "You always get everything you want. What about other people? What about me? Don't I deserve to have at least one thing I want? You don't deserve all you have! Especially with the way you always treat people!"

"Why me?" Draco asked, his voice no longer angry and raised. Now he just sounded confused, frustrated and annoyed.

Harry shrugged again, causing Draco's annoyance to increase at such a dismissive and flippant gesture. "Don't ask me, I don't know!"

Draco sighed in an exasperated fashion and strode towards the door of the classroom, turning just before he reached it.

"Potter, I may not have my wand, but just remember that you won't get away with what you did today," he threatened, face angry and seemingly darker in the shadows. "And don't you dare do it again. Ever!"

Then he was gone.

Of course, Harry never really listened to threats like that, or considered any reality behind them. The next day he cornered Malfoy again, a similar scene unfolding. Draco knew he couldn't do anything without the possibility of something horrible happening. He pushed Harry as far as he felt he could, physically and verbally, but he was still thrown into a state of confusion over this new personality trait in Potter. His eyes had been opened to this new side of Potter, and he did not like it.

Throughout the week, Harry continued to steal kisses from Malfoy whenever he dared, ignoring the potential consequences. Every time Draco pushed him away, Harry felt his body and mind cry out at the repeated rejection, silently begging for acceptance. He often fell into melancholy silences when around friends, becoming distracted and thoughtful, trying to imagine what it would be like if the Slytherin ever kissed him back, held him close.

Draco, on the other hand, was constantly distracted by thoughts of Potter, fear building in him at his helplessness. He would ruthlessly squash it and curse Potter. He often thought of going to someone, yet he couldn't bear the thought of his own embarrassment at having to explain Potter had now moved on to molesting him. Who would believe him anyway? Sweet, innocent Harry would never use and abuse someone like this. Surely it was abuse!

However, he didn't relish the idea of fighting back and risking something worse than what he was currently enduring. At least no one else knew. It seemed that Potter hadn't even told his two friends, as the Weasel wasn't sending him malevolent, knowing smirks. He avoided the trio as much as he could, wanting to minimise the chances of Potter catching him more than was inevitable.

He was also slightly disconcerted by the fact that Harry's lips on his was actually a thrilling and tantalising new encounter that he sometimes found himself reliving and unconsciously daydreaming about.

Now it was Sunday evening, and he had been caught alone by Harry, of course, in the Astronomy Tower. It had been cold in his bed and he'd been lost in thought whilst wandering the school restlessly, unknowingly walking to the famous meeting place of lovers. Everyone knew what went on under the stars late at night during the beautiful Spring and Summer evenings. It was ironic and annoying.

Harry had made him jump by tapping him on the shoulder suddenly, startling him from his musings. He had automatically turned on the spot to insult the foolish person who had dared to sneak up on him and blinked when he saw who it was....

* * * * *

'Damn. Cornered again.'

A few seconds later he felt the familiar weight push him against the window as Harry kissed him firmly. Harry's hands settled on his waist as his own were used to brace himself against the window-sill. The whole process was achingly similar to all the kisses before, yet it was different and new; unique each time.

Harry slowly moved back from Draco, respecting his personal space. There was an awkward silence, but Harry stayed, determined, as always, to prolong his meetings with Draco. He only ever left after the other boy had disappeared.

"Guess you get your wand back tomorrow, then," he finally said uncertainly, trying to keep his voice neutral and unaffected.

"Yes," Draco agreed monotonously.

"We'll go back to just throwing insults, curses, hexes and punches then, I guess."

Draco didn't reply, scrutinising Harry silently. Harry frowned slightly, wondering what the crafty Slytherin was thinking.

"Maybe," Draco finally replied, "and maybe not."

Moving forward quickly, he grasped Harry's upper arm in one hand, and kissed him gently. There was none of the urgency Harry usually bestowed upon him, just a simple touch of their lips that left them both more breathless than any of their previous kisses. Letting his hand fall back to his side, Draco's mouth twitched into a slight mischevious yet elated smile, and he slipped past a stunned Harry, exiting the room silently.

~*~

* * End * *