Coveting Thy Enemy

Chapter 13: Symbols

Draco awoke with his arms still encircling Harry. Sometime during their nap, his legs had wrapped around him too. He released the Gryffindor then and leaned up on his elbow to look at the sleeping boy next to him. Harry looked extremely peaceful and young when he was asleep. Truth be told, that was the first time Draco had had any decent rest since the day Harry had kissed him for the first time. He reached over with his free hand and tenderly brushed a lock of Harry's hair off of his forehead.

Since the night Harry had kissed him, Draco hadn't had a chance to actually think about the situation. He only felt. Now, he pandered through his thoughts with ease. He thought about all the times he had annoyed Harry whenever possible. Had he had feelings for him then? Yea, probably. So, what was with all of the physical and verbal assaults they had inflicted on one another? His brain took little time to contemplate this question before it answered: foreplay. Draco mentally giggled at this realization. If there was a fine line between love and hate, he had been walking that line like a tightrope for the last six and a half years. Draco Malfoy's emotions ran to extremes. When he was happy, he was ecstatic. When he was mad, he was irate. When he loved, he did so with every fiber of his being and beating of his heart. He was in love with Harry Potter, his former enemy, and there was no way he was ever going to let go.

At about that time Harry decided to awake. Blinking sleepy green eyes, he looked up into Draco's face, catching the Slytherin's expression. "What are you thinking?"

"Just how crazy I am about you," replied Draco silkily. He then craned his neck to kiss Harry lightly on the cheek. Just then his stomach rumbled so fiercely Harry could feel it against his back. "Hungry," said Draco. "I missed both lunch and breakfast and now it's dinnertime."

"We better go then," said Harry, but he did not move from his position. Instead, he reached up and trailed his fingertips through Draco's silvery hair. "You are so beautiful," he said and pulled Draco down to him in a crushing embrace. They kissed rather passionately until Draco's stomach rumbled again, making its demands clear. Harry sighed heavily and slid out from under Draco's tempting form. "We'll just have to continue from there later," he said, holding his hand out to pull Draco up from the couch.

"Can't I open it now?" asked Harry, shaking the heavy silver and green package.

Draco smiled at Harry's childish antics. "I thought I told you, you have to wait until Christmas, Potter?" he asked in a teasing tone that Harry would have never attributed to Draco Malfoy a year ago.

"But, it's 11:45," whined Harry.

Draco gave an exasperated sigh. "Oh, alright." He couldn't help but to grin when he saw the Gryffindor's eyes light up when he began attacking the package with unmasked glee.

Harry unwrapped the package and stared inside. He couldn't quite believe his eyes. After a few seconds of shock, he began laughing hysterically. Draco had given him a box of rocks! "Great gift, Malfoy. I guess this is your way of reeking revenge on me for the little wager prank I played?"

Draco gave into his own laughter then. It was hard to keep it restrained while Harry had been so excited about receiving the gift. "Yea, actually it is. But, Harry, I really did get you a gift." He rummaged in the pockets of his robes and pulled out a small package, pushing it toward Harry on an outstretched palm. Harry plucked the package from Draco and opened the scarlet, velvet box. Inside were two identical, silver necklaces. They gleamed in the light of the Christmas tree, sending off sparks in all directions. The necklaces were in the shape of two hands holding a heart, which was crowned.

"What is this?" asked Harry, tracing the emblem of one of the necklaces with his forefinger.

"It's a Claudaugh," answered Draco. "It's a Celtic emblem. It symbolizes everlasting friendship and loyalty." Draco mentally shook himself from expressing the "love" that the symbol also represented. "The necklaces have been charmed. I wear one; you wear the other. If ever one of us is in danger, the other will know."

"So, if something happened to me, you would try to protect me?" asked Harry in a breath.

Draco looked at him for almost a full minute before replying. "I would never let something happen to you, Potter." He replied, and pulled Harry in for a kiss. Time was irrelevant when Draco and Harry kissed. When their lips touched, they created their own world. a world free from harsh realities. Their world did not consist of the right side and the wrong side, the black and the white, as they had been forced to choose between. Their world consisted only of one another.

When they paused for air, Harry blinked up into Malfoy's gaze. "Oh, now it's your turn for a gift." He went to the tree, pulled a package out and extended it to Draco.

Draco was astonished. This wasn't something he expected. "When did you manage to get me a gift?"

Harry looked rather smug. "Oh, I picked something up a while ago when we were getting along. I've held on to it for quite a while."

"Oh," said Draco. He reached for the package and unwrapped it. He uncovered a book. Flipping it over to the front, he realized it was the Bible. He shot Harry a questioning glance.

Harry shrugged. "I noticed that you checked it out quite a bit from the library. I guessed that you was interested since it's not on our reading list for Muggle Studies until April."

Draco was touched that Harry could recall such an inconsequential thing. He had wanted a copy of the Muggle text, although he wouldn't have bought it in case someone would have noticed. For some reason he found the Muggle mythology fascinating. "I think this is the best gift I've ever received," he told Harry, trying to keep his emotions in check. "Especially since you noticed my interest." He pulled Harry in for another kiss. Gods, he was obsessed with kissing the raven-haired, green-eyed Gryffindor who was standing in front of him, a look of happiness etched upon his handsome face.

Harry pulled the twin necklaces from the velvet box and placed one around his neck. He pulled Draco toward him by the nape of his neck and placed the other around his neck. He then kissed the silvery blonde hair at the crown of Draco's head. "Have you caught the time? It's Christmas."

Draco looked at the Gryffindor wall clock. Indeed, the largest hand was pointed at "Presents". "Happy Christmas, my green-eyed Gryffindor," he told Harry.

"Happy Christmas, my sexy Slytherin, " said Harry with a grin.

"Say, what did you get Cho for Christmas, Potter?" asked Draco, a look of unhidden jealousy in his eyes.

Harry couldn't help but to feel smug at the emotion he read in Draco's eyes. "Oh, I got her a book of Quidditch strategies. A bad gift really, because I think she already has one."