No One’s Hero

Chapter Three of No OneÂ’s Hero:

The Meaning of Words

Draco watched Harry as he worked. His hand ran through his mess of black hair that seemed to go everywhere, yet still looked sexy. Well, he might not go as far as to say sexy, but damn near close. He had dark, intense green eyes. His emotions showed in his eyes. Not on his face, only his eyes.

When they first met, they were hopeful. Harry had found an escape from the hell he had with the muggles. Now, they were hollow, empty evenÂ… The spark that had once burned behind them had been snubbed out. He had escaped one hell, and walked into another far worse.

He bit his bottom lip, in thought. Now, that was sexy.

"Help me with this one," Harry said looking up. He smirked, suddenly realizing that Draco had been starring.

He said nothing, and looked at the problem that Harry was pointing to, "We did this stuff a few weeks ago. You should know it."

"And you forget I havenÂ’t been paying attention for months," Harry said with a groan. If only he hadnÂ’t let his schoolwork die when the rest of his life did. He needed to pull up his grades fast if he planned on graduating.

"Alright, let me see your pencil a second," he replied and began to work out the problem.

"Wait how did you get that number?" Harry asked, trying hard to follow. Lucky for him that it was still possible to pull up this last semesterÂ’s marks. And if he did well on all of his finals, he was set. He had been paying enough attention the previous six years, and things were looking good.

Draco quickly explained, and HarryÂ’s face brightened. It was all coming together.

"It makes sense."

"I would hope so," Draco said with a laugh.

"Thank you for helping me out. It means a lot to me," Harry said with a blush, and tilted his head up at Draco.

"You mean a lot to me," he replied, and kissed Harry. What was the point of studying without a good snog?

*

The seat was empty all day. It was odd, how a personÂ’s presence could be taken for granted. Yet it was. There was a cold pinch in his stomach the entire day. Where was he? He usually slept through every class, but never before had he just not shown up.

Harry Potter was MIA all day except for potions. What the hell was he thinking? Waltzing in with Malfoy, of all people!? Dean had suggested that somethingÂ… romantic was going on between them. Ron had never looked at Harry in that light before.

He himself had never had any gay thoughts, and he had just assumed he and Harry were alike in that respect. Maybe he was wrong. If he had been born a girl, he might think Harry was good looking, maybe even Malfoy too, but they didnÂ’t seem like the kind of people who would get together. Harry and DracoÂ… a couple? They were black and white, day and night. Complete oppositesÂ…

Then again, Harry had changed.

After potions was over, Harry had left with Malfoy. He hadnÂ’t shown up for any other classes. So what? He was skipping. Then when he didnÂ’t show up for lunch or dinner, Ron got worried.

Maybe Malfoy was kidnapping him, he thought with a small laugh.

But who would be willing to pay the ransom? ThatÂ’s when it hit him. Even Ron realized that no one cared about Harry like they used to. Not even himÂ… No one.

Except Malfoy.

Why did Draco care? What was in it for him? What had he done to drag Harry out of his everlasting depression?

Ron turned to Hermione who was eating dinner beside him, but her nose was in a book.

"Herm? Do you think I should talk to Harry?"

She lifted her head and looked at him. Brown curls fell across her face, and it made her look cute. "About what? Malfoy? I think you should leave it alone."

He sighed, "Maybe your right." The dinner disappeared. "Want to walk back with me to the tower?"

She smiled, "IÂ’d love too." Ron took HermioneÂ’s hand into his own, and they walked, hand in hand. He was glad he had come to his senses; heÂ’d never find another girl like her.

*

It was going on ten. Hermione shifted against his chest. They were together in the common room, sitting together and talking. They said nothing important, but it was pleasant.

It was on a night like this that he had realized he had fallen in love. She had never shown any interest in him, but when they talked, he felt a sting tug against his heart. Later that night he told Harry. He had gone to bed early, feeling worn out. Upon hearing RonÂ’s confession, he merely smiled and rolled over before muttering a weak, "I wondered when you were going to come to your senses."

That was the last time he had seen Harry smile, until today. His moods got worse. The once optimistic view on life turned dark and ugly. He stopped eating. He got quiet.

At one point, breakfasts were spent discussing Quidditch matches, teaches, homework, and wizard life in general. Harry stopped taking part in the discussions. He only nodded and shrugged.

Harry started talking to the younger kids, and had found a replacement seeker. Without a word of prior notice, he quit, and suggested a first year that was almost as good as he was. Everyone was shocked, but no one said anything.

Harry stopped doing things. At first, everyone was afraid to say something to stop him. They wanted to give Harry space, since he suddenly seemed to need it. Everyone assumed heÂ’d come around sooner or later.

He never did. And everyone sort of forgot about what he used to be like. Now he was just another faceless nobody.

Ron sighed and kissed HermioneÂ’s cheek. "I had better get to bed, Love."

She yawned and rubbed her eyes, "YouÂ’re right. ThereÂ’s a big test in History tomorrow anyway. Sweet dreams." She placed a soft feathery kiss on RonÂ’s lips and walked up the stairs to her dorm.

Ron turned off the lap beside him, and walked up to his room, the door was shut. ‘Odd’ he thought, all of his other dorm mates were down in the common room still, except Harry…

"Bloody hell! Harry!? Dra-" his jaw dropped.

Harry tuned to the door. "What do you want?" he asked coldly.

Ron couldnÂ’t find words to answer with. Draco was in their dorm room, lying on HarryÂ’s bed, with HarryÂ… They wereÂ… cuddling.

"Well, what the fuck do you want?"

"Do you realize who that is?"

Harry groaned and shook his head. Draco wrapped his arm around HarryÂ’s waist, laughing. Ron failed to see the humor in all of this.

"No, I have no idea who this sexy Slytherin is," he said cruelly. "Stop gawking."

"I need to go to bed," Ron stated.

"Then go," he said, as if it were obvious.

"ButÂ… HeÂ’s in here."

"I donÂ’t see a problem with it. You can go to bed with other people in the room, Ron. Draco hasnÂ’t done anything to stop you."

He had to bite his tongue from lashing out and saying something particularly cruel. He did not like Harry like this. ‘Depressed Harry’ was better than ‘Evil Harry Who Was In The Same Bed As Malfoy Harry’. Ron walked back out the door.

Draco laughed, "That was interesting. Maybe this wasnÂ’t one of my best ideas." He smiled and blond hair fell down in front of his eye.

"I thought it was a good idea. Maybe we should save it for another night though?" Harry said and brushed the hair aside, and placed a simple kiss on his lips. Draco wrapped his arm around his neck, and pulled Harry closer. He wanted more than that.

Draco was a great kisser. Harry loved the way he kissed, and the way he tasted. It took his breath, and left him light headed. No other kiss had ever matched his. They were something more, something better.

If things didnÂ’t stopÂ… Harry pulled away, "IÂ’ll walk down with you to the common room."

Draco smiled, "YouÂ’re blushing."

"I am not," he said with a smirk.

"They why is your face red?"

"IÂ’m just hot," Harry said sheepishly.

"You make me hot too," Draco said with a wink. Harry just blushed harder, realizing what he said. They walked down the stairs without another word. Everyone in the common room, turned to watch as they walked to the exit.

"I believe weÂ’re putting on another show," Draco said.

"Are you worried about your dad?" he asked, concerned.

"I donÂ’t think anyone is going to say anything right now. After all, it is only day one."

Harry laughed, "It seems a lot longer."

"I know," Draco said, and pulled Harry into a hug.

"Night."

"Night."

Harry watched Draco walk down the hall, and walked back up to his dorm, set on going to bed, and getting some well deserved sleep.

*

It was late, very late. Everyone else was asleep. "Harry?"

"Hm?" he mumbled.

"WhatÂ’s going on?"

"Hm."

"You awake?"

"Uh huhÂ…" he said with a yawn.

"WhatÂ’s going on between you and Malfoy?"

"DracoÂ…"

"Okay, you and Draco?"

"Nutten."

"What did he do?"

"Listen. Understands," Harry yawned again.

"I tried to understand. I really did. You were like a brother to me. One that I actually liked."

"Uh huh."

"Why Malfoy?"

"Draco."

"Why Draco?" Ron asked. Harry didnÂ’t answer this time.

"Harry?"

"Harry? You awake?" he asked. A soft murmur of sleep was his only reply.