Blood, Lust, and Bubbles

Slowly dragging the tiny blade across the surface of his skin, breaking it without so much as a flinch or a shudder. Silently watching as the blood flow grows steady. Carefully placing his arm in a sink full of cold water, gazing at the tiny wisps of crimson that emerged from the wound.

This was his life. He didn't remember when it had first started, all he knew was that he couldn't stop, and, more importantly, he didn't want to. He harboured a grim fascination with this addiction, so much so that he didn't think of it as a problem, but a simple relief to the everyday stresses of real life.

He drained the sink and summoned a towel to dry his arm off, then slid down the wall to sit on the floor, observing his scars. There were so many of them; some old, some new, all of them remaining unnoticed. The first couple times he had cut himself, he worried that someone might see them, and he would be put away. No one ever saw them, because they didn't want to, so after awhile he had stopped trying to hide them.

He gazed up nonchalantly as the door to the prefect's bathroom opened, and in walked the person he least wanted to see. "Potter," he drawled, acknowledging the other boy.

"What are you doing in here, Malfoy?" Harry asked quietly, his eyes darting from the blood spattered sink, to the razor blade on the floor, and finally to the towel around Draco's wrist.

"Arts and crafts, want to join me?" Draco smirked, "you're in luck, I was just about to start on the macaroni pictures."

He struggled to stand, but suddenly became dizzy and started to slide back down. Harry rushed forward to help him, lifting Draco easily to his feet.

"Well, there goes Potter, playing the hero again. Can't even stop yourself from helping the enemy, can you?" Draco mumbled, half bitterly, and half gratefully.

"Come on, I'll help you to the Hospital Wing," Harry said wearily, ignoring the previous statement.

"I don't want to go to the Hospital Wing."

"You have to, you're hurt."

"It's just a scratch," Draco insisted stubbornly.

"It still has to be cleaned."

"So, you could do it for me."

"Excuse me?"

"You are still taking those Mediwizard classes, aren't you?"

Harry looked uncomfortable, "Well, yes, but you really should have a professional..."

"I trust you Potter, now get on with it."

"Fine," Harry muttered through gritted teeth, and began mumbling various spells and charms until the cut was nothing more than a memory. "Done," he announced, looking proudly at Draco.

"I was rather hoping to keep the scar..." Draco started, looking mournfully at his wrist, "I had a name picked out for it and everything."

"You ungrateful git," Harry seethed, appalled at Draco's reaction.

"I never said I was ungrateful Potter. You did a splendid job, thank you," Draco replied, and did something Harry had never seen him do before. He broke into a wide grin, no smirking or twitching of the upper lip involved.

Harry returned the smile, feeling more at ease with the boy now than any other time since they'd known each other. "Just out of morbid curiosity..."

"What was I going to name it?"

Harry nodded.

"Well, this one is particularly large, so I'm pretty sure I would have christened it Goyle, had you given me the chance."

"Why, exactly? If you don't mind my asking."

"I name all my scars after people who cause me pain," Draco replied solemnly.

Harry looked shocked, "But I thought he was your friend?"

Draco frowned, "No, he's just there to remind me that I have no friends. Not real ones, anyway."

They both looked down at the ground as an uncomfortable silence filled the room. Finally, Draco moved toward the door, "I'll just be leaving now, because I'm sure you didn't come in here to play doctor."

Not five seconds later he poked his head back in the door, "Potter?"

Harry looked up, "Yes?"

"Thanks." With that he was gone again, leaving Harry to some interesting thoughts. Maybe Malfoy wasn't so bad after all.

After a moment of surveying the room, he had a change of heart, "The bloody prat left me to clean up his mess," he mumbled aloud, to no one in particular.

_____________________________________________________________________

"Harry, where have you been all this time? You were supposed to meet me by the lake fifteen minutes ago!" Hermione started, approaching her friend in the hallway.

"I... I had to get something from... the library," he stuttered quickly.

She gave him a strange look before continuing, "I need to talk to you about Ron. He's been ignoring me lately and...what's that on your shirt? It looks like blood."

Harry gasped and looked down. He hadn't noticed that some of Draco's blood had gotten on him when he'd tried to help him up. His vain attempts at trying to cover it up only made Hermione more suspicious.

"Harry, what's wrong?"

"It's nothing, I just ran into... something," he finished lamely.

"What kind of something?"

"Errr..." he looked down at his shirt, then back up at her, "the sharp kind."

"Right, well I figured that much, but I was looking for a more specific answer."

"It was ahh... quill. Yes, that's it, a quill," he nodded enthusiastically.

"Quills aren't that sharp."

"I know that! It was a sugar quill, a stale one. A piece broke off and it was rather sharp."

"So... let me get this straight. You ran into a stale sugar quill, and it somehow made you bleed, even though your shirt's not ripped, and it didn't pierce the skin?"

"Err... yes?"

He was saved more criticism by Ron, who chose that moment to appear around the corner. "There you guys are! I've been looking for you everywhere. Let's go, it's dinner time."

Harry gave a relieved sigh, which, thankfully, nobody seemed to notice.

_____________________________________________________________________

Things at Hogwarts were subtly different after the confrontation between Harry and Draco. The Gryffindors and Slytherins as a whole still hated and fought with each other, but Harry and Draco treated each other with a respect that shocked those who noticed.

Every now and then Harry would enter the Prefect's bathroom to find Draco in much the same situation he'd been in the first time. On these occasions Harry would heal him, amidst polite conversation. Afterward neither of them would mention anything about it, and it soon became a ritual that they both looked forward to.

The things they talked about usually had nothing to do with why Draco was hurting himself. However, they didn't need to, because Harry eventually figured out why on his own. Draco was lonely.

It didn't take a brain surgeon to figure out that his father didn't have time for him, and his mother didn't exactly look like the warm friendly type. Draco had confessed once that the only reason he kept Crabbe and Goyle around was to make himself look tough. Pansy and Blaise, the reigning queens of Slytherin gave him plenty of attention, due to his good looks and charm, but if a time came when he needed to confide in somebody, they were never around.

The next day Harry strolled into the bathroom to find Draco with the razor to his wrist, although he hadn't cut yet. They stared at each other a moment, before Harry got impatient, "Well, what are you waiting for?"

"I can't do it if you're watching," the other boy whined.

Harry sighed, "Fine, do you want to go for a walk instead, then?"

Draco nodded.

The two boys walked in silence for a while, exploring the many hallways of Hogwarts. It didn't take long, however, for them to start talking. The topic this time, was girls they had been with. On this subject, they both had much to talk about, being two of the most popular boys in school, whether they liked it or not.

"So tell me, Potter, have you and Granger ever..."

"Me and Hermione?" Harry laughed, "no, we're just friends. Besides, I couldn't shag her if I wanted to, she's too far gone for Ron," he paused, "well Malfoy, I've told you all about my sex life, now it's your turn."

Draco shrugged nonchalantly, and started counting names off on his fingers, "Blaise, Pansy, Lavender, both the Patil twins... not at the same time, of course, and some ah... others I'd rather not mention," Draco blushed.

Harry smirked, "You have to tell me now, I'm just dying to know."

"I don't want to."

"I think you should."

"No."

"Yeah."

Draco mumbled something incoherent and blushed a deeper shade of red.

"What was that? It kind of sounded like you said Millicent Bulstrode," Harry said, laughing as if this was the funniest thing in the world.

Draco remained silent and looked down at the ground.

Once Harry realized that Draco wasn't laughing as well, Harry looked up, his eyes shining with genuine fear, "You... you're joking, right?" Harry grabbed his friend by the shoulders, shaking him slightly, "Please tell me you're joking."

"Would you believe me if I told you I was young and I needed the money?" Draco replied feebly.

"No, because you're still young, and you belong to one of the richest families in the Wizarding world."

"Fine. We have this party once a month in the Slytherin Common room. It usually ends with half the people passing out and the other half puking their guts out in some random toilet."

"Doesn't Snape ever notice?" Harry interrupted.

"Who do you think funds these parties? He does it to assure that we all behave and stay out of his hair."

"Wow, wish McGonagall was like that."

"May I continue? As I was saying, we all get drunk and... things happen... little accidents."

"The sleeping with Millicent Bulstrode kind of accident is not little, Draco"

Draco's face was flushed redder than ever now.

"Draco Malfoy, blushing? I must have stumbled into an alternate universe," Harry smirked.

"You're one to talk," Draco brightened up suddenly, an evil glint coming into his eye, "you blushed harder than me yesterday when Colin Creevey got up in front of the entire school and announced the grand opening of the official Harry Potter fan club."

"That was just a joke!" Harry cried indignantly, now blushing as well.

"Right, that's why half the first years were wearing 'I Heart Potter' badges, and Colin and Ginny were selling memberships at lunch," Draco said, trying not to laugh.

They were now halfway down the steps, and Harry spun around quickly, although he too was smiling. "Shut up Malfoy, it's not funny," with that he lightly punched Draco on the shoulder.

Draco returned the punch, causing Harry to lose balance. But before he could fall down the steps, Draco had a firm grasp on his wrist, and was jerking him up a little too roughly, so that he was thrown against the blond Slytherin.

As Harry was there, leaning against Draco's chest and trying to catch his breath, Draco's mind was whirling with unexpected thoughts.

Only one month ago, had Draco been in this situation, he would have felt like pushing Harry as far away as possible. Actually, he wouldn't have even bothered saving him in the first place. Now he felt like he never wanted to let go of the dark haired boy standing before him.

The fact that he had almost fallen down the steps was only part of the reason Harry couldn't catch his breath. Draco was so close that when he turned his head slightly, a wisp of his hair fell out of place, brushing softly against Harry's cheek. He gazed up into the other boy's sparkling grey eyes, always so cold with malice, but now full with amusement and something else Harry couldn't quite grasp at the moment.

Harry coughed suddenly, stepping away and running one hand through his tousled hair, "Uh, thanks Malfoy."

Draco cleared his throat, "Well Potter, if you hadn't been so clumsy, we wouldn't be in this situation."

"What situation?" Harry asked slyly.

"Err... well the steps and the umm.. right yea the with.. umm well... it's getting late and.. uhhh.. I'll just be going now," Draco simply turned and walked up the stairs.

Harry stood there for about a minute, scratching his head thoughtfully, before Draco was back again, "Ummm... my Common Room is down in the dungeon... so I'll just be heading down the steps this time."

"See ya," Harry replied, before ascending the steps to his own Common Room.

_____________________________________________________________________

As the weeks flew by, Harry and Draco stopped meeting each other in the bathroom so much, but began to explore the other sights Hogwarts had to offer. They would simply pass each other in the hallway and decide to go for a walk, learning more and more about each other as their conversations grew deeper. Draco was now glad that he had someone to talk intimately with, and Harry was relieved to note that the scars on Draco's arm grew fainter and fainter, until there were no new cuts that he could see.

_____________________________________________________________________

One day, after a particularly brutal Quidditch practice, Harry decided to relax with a nice bubble bath. It was already dark as Harry strode to the Prefect's bathroom. As he opened the door, he was surprised to see that the bathtub was already full. He was about to leave, when he noticed no one was in there, so he decided to stay.

He slowly undressed and lowered himself into the soothing bath water. After relaxing for a while, Harry began to swim laps, disappearing in and out of the sea of bubbles.

_____________________________________________________________________

Draco strolled lazily into the Prefect's bathroom, carrying the pyjamas he had forgot earlier. He quickly began to undress, soon standing in only his boxers. As he hooked his thumbs into the hem, he hesitated, when a certain dark haired boy emerged at the edge of the bathtub. They looked at each other for an awkward moment before he unhooked his thumbs and put his hands on his hips, "Potter, what the hell are you doing in my bubble bath?"

"I didn't know! Your name wasn't on it!"

"Well that's because it's a BUBBLE BATH!"

"Fine!" Harry cried, standing abruptly so that the entire upper half of his body had emerged from the water, "I'll just get out then!" He prepared to climb out.

"Wait, no, here's a towel!" Draco cried, covering his eyes and throwing Harry a warm fluffy towel.

When he turned to look, Harry had his back to him and was just wrapping it around his waist, his back gleaming in the candlelight, suds still clinging to his damp hair. Harry turned to look at him, "Are you happy now?" he asked with a bit of a smile.

"I'd be happier if I could take my bath," he replied with a pout.

"Err... I think I should get dressed then."

"Oh, right, I'll help you."

Harry raised an eyebrow.

Draco jumped slightly as he realized the full extent of his words, "I uh I mean... help you gather your clothes, not help you actually put them on, because that would be... uhhh.. well... yes, wrong and umm... I'll stop talking now."

They both bent to pick up some of Harry's clothing, when their hands met, as they both reached for Harry's boxers. They both tried to stand up quickly, but their heads bumped together.

"Sorry," Harry said, looking embarrassed.

He brushed the hair away from Draco's forehead to reveal a small red bump, his hand trailing down the length of Draco's face. Gazing at each other, Draco suddenly realized that he could no longer resist those brilliant green eyes, looking so longingly into his, and so without hesitation, he slowly leaned forward until their lips were pressed gently together. He could feel the heat between them now, and as the kiss grew stronger they both opened their mouths to let their tongues explore freely through one another's mouth. All the while, Harry's hand moved from the base of Draco's back to travel up his spine and finally tangle itself in his soft white blond hair.

Draco forcefully pushed Harry into the wall, not once separating their mouths. Pressing his body closer to Harry's and placing his hands on the other boy's hips, Draco began to kiss more passionately, not noticing that Harry's towel was slowly slipping off. As they tried to switch to a more comfortable position, Harry's towel finally gave way, dropping to the ground and completely exposing him.