Pulling Him Up

On Tuesday morning, the day that Severus was to resume teaching, it was raining so badly that he had woken up with a blanket covering him from his toes all the way up to his nose. He had thought he was alone in the bed but then he had noticed a huge and strange lump beside him. Gently, Severus flipped the blanket and studied his younger companions.

Harry, dark-haired and slightly tanned, was curled around Draco much like the night before. Draco, fair-haired and pale, was clutching at the hem of Severus' nightshirt. The older wizard smiled weakly and turned cautiously on his side. He raised his hand and pushed Draco's silver-blonde hair away to reveal the sharp and elegant aristocratic features.

He contemplated on the things that had happened during the past two days and nights as he caressed Draco's cheek affectionately. It was still somewhat surprising that Draco did not mind that he had affections for Harry as well.

Yes, Severus had informed Draco of his feelings, but not through actions. He had told the silver-haired wizard that he cared, which did not come out right until his seventeenth try. Severus grimaced slightly at his own foolishness. However, there was no doubt that he felt better after he had said it to Draco.

His focus returned to the hand that clutched at his nightshirt and he chuckled with amusement.

While Harry had no qualms of showing his affections and Severus - though he hated to admit it - was somewhat thrilled with the attention, Draco was ... hesitant.

That puzzled Severus severely.

He was certainly not hesitant about having Harry close to him. So what did I do?

A muffled sound reached his ears.

Draco's face had tightened and he was leaning toward Severus. The Potions Master dimly realized that Draco felt cold. However, before he could pull the blanket up and tuck it around the younger wizards, Draco's face had found its way to his chest and Severus did not pull away. He rested his hand on Draco's nape and craned his neck carefully to look at the window.

It's still early. Severus closed his eyes and relaxed. Just a while more. Dreamily, he stroked Harry's hair as well.

Several minutes later, just when Severus started to feel sleepy again, Draco stirred.

Silver eyes fluttered open slowly and then they stared unblinkingly into his. Severus and Draco looked at each other in silence for several moments.

"Are you all right?" Draco asked softly.

Had Severus not understood what Draco was really asking, he would have simply thought it was an inane question. However, he understood. They were riding in the same boat after all. They were both Slytherins and Slytherins were not thought to be passionate with others but their ambitions. For Severus, his present arrangement with Harry and Draco seemed awkward and truthfully, a little weird.

"It feels strange, doesn't it?" Draco continued in a hushed voice. "It feels scary and wonderful at the same time." Draco's expression became troubled. "Severus, why do I feel like this? I'm not ... aren't I supposed to behave differently?"

"I don't know," Severus answered softly.

Draco's eyes glazed over. "And Harry - he scares me with the way he gives ... affection so freely, so unselfishly. Are all Gryffindors like that? Or is it because it's him?"

"He is reckless," Severus mumbled.

"That's not what I meant, Severus. I mean, he does things without expecting anything in return. It's frightening."

"It is who he is," Severus answered thoughtfully.

The silver-haired wizard beside him sighed softly. "We'd be laughed at if anyone knows about us, not to mention the slight alteration of how they would view the Slytherins, but frankly, I won't give a damn about what they think. I wish you could say the same."

Severus did not answer because Draco was right. He had gotten himself into this although he was aware that they were still his students.

"If you're given a Time-Turner, would you have used it, Severus?"

"To go back in time?" Severus' voice was filled with derision. "It would give me the opportunity to save you from them and to prevent this from happening as well. However, what if saving you meant Harry had to die?"

Draco gave a small gasp.

"What if I had used it but the two of you died in the end?" Severus closed his eyes briefly. "Once, I had gotten to know that someone had used it to save a man's life," he said somberly. "Although I might be wrong, but the man died exactly two years later." He exhaled loudly. "So my answer is no. I am not willing to tempt Nature into taking the two of you away from me. If it means that people would look at me and know that I am capable to feel, so be it. Life is always filled with sacrifices and I am enough of a man not to run away from a decision that I have made several weeks ago."

"What decision?"

Severus stared deeply into Draco's inquisitive eyes. "You took me in, remember?" He could very clearly remember the night Draco had embraced him and he had accepted the younger man's comfort.

"Oh." Draco blinked several times before looking away. It did not escape Severus' eyes that Draco was blushing. "So, Harry was right all along," the silver-haired wizard mumbled.

"Right about what?" Severus' eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Never mind that."

Draco pressed his face against Severus' chest again.

"It has been a long time since I have allowed myself to feel like this," Severus murmured.

"What? You mean with two men?"

"Certainly not that," Severus answered primly. "I have never thought of the possibility."

"I was just playing, Severus," Draco said softly. "So ... you won't regret this?" he inquired meekly.

"I will try not to," Severus said in a dry tone.

"You won't back out?"

"I am sturdy enough to find out where this will take me."

"Good." Draco paused. "Severus, I just want to tell you something. There's no Harry without you."

Severus felt Draco's fingers gripping the front of his shirt more forcefully.

"I had tried, you know, to think you're more important than Harry, but I can't. It's just - I don't know - you're not complete without him."

The Potions Master arched his eyebrow and looked at Draco with a somewhat cynical expression. "I see." No, I do not see.

"Does this mean we're ... lovers now, Severus?"

A smile curved Severus' lips upon hearing the anxiousness in the younger Slytherin's voice.

"Severus..."

"I am not certain," he confessed.

~oOo*oOo~

Harry was trying hard not to give away any signs that he was awake, but it was very difficult trying to hide the gleeful smile on his lips. Bloody hell ... Severus sounds so ... Merlin.

While Harry was busy trying to keep up the pretense that he was asleep and unwary of their conversation, Draco had struck a topic that was of great interest to him.

"Why me and Harry?" Draco asked diffidently.

"Why me?" Severus countered.

Harry felt Draco's chest expanding before he heard a sigh.

"I've always admired you," Draco said lightly. "Although you were a nasty, snarky git most of the time, some of what you'd said were really good advice." There was a thoughtful pause from Draco. "You're actually the only person around here who could intimidate Granger into politeness."

Harry stiffened slightly at the mention of his friend.

"I really liked what you'd said to her last year."

"Draco."

"Harry is sleeping, Severus. If he hadn't noticed that his friend had been rude and impertinent, not only to you and Trelawney, but to some of the other professors as well, then let him have the illusion that his friends are the epitome of good."

"Draco, he realizes that there is no person that does not have flaws. He knows," Severus said tiredly.

"Still..."

"You have been a Slytherin long enough to ignore the injustices directed at us, Draco."

"I know. I still remember what you'd said to me eight years ago. So, back to the subject. I like you because ... I just do. You, the secret, unknown hero of the wizarding world might have changed my simple innocent crush to something more." Draco was brushing his finger back and forth on Harry's hand and the sensation was slightly ticklish.

Keep still ... or they'll know that you're awake, Harry told himself.

"It doesn't matter if you're not recognized by the wizarding world - at least I hope it doesn't matter to you," Draco said in a quiet voice. "What matters most is that the people who you've helped acknowledge your efforts and give you credit for it - Harry, Professor Dumbledore, me ... Granger even."

"Draco," Severus sighed, "I had listened to Harry quite carefully the other night."

"I thought you needed more convincing to make you understand that you have the opportunity to be hated and to be loved," Draco answered in a too-innocent voice in Harry's opinion. "So, there ... now you know why I have affections for you."

"Indeed?"

He is so bloody cynical today, Harry mused. Is it because he has to go back to work?

"Severus." Draco sounded exasperated. "At least you can count on the fact that my affections are not exactly brought on by your looks."

"That is really comforting, Draco."

"Severus," Draco called the Potions Master in a dangerous sort of tone.

Harry listened to the older wizard's explosive sigh.

"So, why me and Harry?"

"I am not entirely certain," Severus began. "As illogical as it is, I feel closer to the two of you than to any other persons. I was - still am - fascinated by you, or more specifically, the way you think."

"And what are you sneering at?"

"I must say that I like it most when you look as though you are thinking hard and when you ask me important, philosophical questions."

His heart is beating fast, Harry thought with amusement as he counted Draco's pulse.

"Huh. What about Harry?" Draco squirmed slightly and Harry took that as a chance to stir to 'wakefulness'.

"As for Harry, I had not counted on being fond of his willfulness over the years. Although his determination, recklessness and straightforwardness are quite annoying, those qualities make him all the more ... endearing," Severus said silkily. "Good morning."

"Severus, we've been talking for minutes and now you - oh."

Harry had caught Draco's wrist and he was lacing his fingers through the Slytherin's long ones. "Good morning, Severus, Draco." Harry began to rub Draco's hand the same way that the silver-haired wizard did to him a few minutes ago, and Draco jerked his hand away a little. "That really tickles quite a bit." He stopped and kissed Draco's shoulder briefly before propping himself up.

The sky outside was gradually turning pink.

"It's Tuesday," Harry said with a soft sigh. Then he looked at Severus with a gentle smile. "You have to go back being a Potions Master."

"Hmphf."

So it is really because he has to go back to work. Harry smiled a little. "What do you want to do today, Draco?" He lowered his eyes to focus on Draco's face and his eyes widened at the redness of Draco's cheeks. Why is he embarrassed?

"Will it be okay if I rejoin my classmates?"

Both Severus and Harry arched their eyebrows at the unexpected request.

"I'm bored."

Harry pouted slightly.

"Harry, you look ridiculous," Draco said impishly. "It is not that I find your company boring, but..."

"But?" Severus appeared sardonic.

"I miss studying," Draco mumbled.

"Right." Harry grinned.

"I'm not like you!"

Harry laughed and buried his face in Draco's hair. "I get what you mean, Draco. I miss studying too."

Severus snorted derisively.

"For subjects like Defense, Charms or Herbology."

"What about Potions?"

"I'll be lying if I say that I miss his classes," Harry said wryly. "I miss our practices though." He squeezed Draco's hand rather affectionately. "But are you sure you want to be around people now?"

"I have to do that sooner of later," Draco said seriously. "I don't want to remain like this for too long."

"All right," Harry said, nodding his approval. "Severus?"

The older wizard looked as though that he did not care for the idea. "All right. I believe this will be good for you," he said finally. Severus' eyes turned penetrating. "You will not let him out of your sight," he said to Harry. "And you - go to Harry if things become too uncomfortable."

"Severus, the other Slytherins..." Harry's voice trailed off when Severus stared unblinkingly at him. "All right." Harry sighed. But what if they think Draco's weaker now?

"Okay. But ... I'm not going to return to my dormitory." Draco was slightly tense under Harry's hand. "Pansy and the others ... they might..."

"We understand," Harry answered. "That's why the three of us are going to return here when night comes."

"Can we?" Draco asked hopefully.

"That is not appropriate," Severus said. He appeared slightly uneasy.

"I know it isn't but it is the only way I can ensure that we can spend some time with each other," Harry said seriously. "I wasn't joking when I said I missed you."

"Besides, you're not fully healed. You still need to rest," Draco added in a polite voice.

"I don't need nurse maids."

"You don't but you need someone to care for you," Harry answered with a bright smile. "Behind closed doors only if that's what you want."

~oOo*oOo~

At around eight o'clock in the morning, Harry stepped out of McGonagall's office holding a roll of parchment. And just how in the hell do I tell the seventh year Gryffindors that they have classes to attend? I don't feel like chasing them from all over the castle. Why didn't she just announce using the system?

While Harry contemplated about how he was going to deliver the message to the other students, his feet took him back to the Great Hall. He had been there earlier to eat breakfast before Sir Nicholas had popped up to say that McGonagall wanted to see him.

The din in the Hall gathered his attention and Harry's emerald eyes flitted over to the Slytherin tables.

The silver-haired Slytherin was sitting apart from his bodyguards, and he was wearing a look on his face that seemed to warn people not to get too close to him.

Harry was a little surprised by it. Just like the old times... However, that thought disappeared when a couple of sixth years gave Draco contriving looks.

Draco must have had sensed their malice because he was slowly turning his head. Harry had never seen Draco giving such an icy stare. The Slytherin's expression had always been taunting but this time, it was different.

The sixth years finally noticed the difference in the way Draco stared at them and they looked away quickly. The food on the table seemed to appear attractive to them suddenly. Amused, Harry continued to watch them until he realized that he was being spied on. His eyes moved and they swiftly locked into a pair of silver eyes.

Draco smiled faintly at him before eating his breakfast.

That was different, Harry thought absently.

He approached his friends and scanned their faces. One was missing. "Where's Dean?" he asked, stopping behind Ron.

"He's still sleeping, I think," Seamus piped up. "I'm not sure."

"We don't have classes so it doesn't matter if he wakes later than usual."

"Not fair," muttered one of Harry's juniors.

"What's up?" Parvati inquired, her face curious.

"Okay." Harry paused for a moment. "I guess I'm lucky there are only nine of us and not twenty. Listen up, seventh year Gryffindors only. We have to attend Charms class at nine. It'll end at eleven and we are to report immediately to Professor Sprout after that. Lunch will be from one to three in the afternoon. After that, we're expected to carry out our patrolling duties."

"We have lessons?" Hermione squealed with delight but the others groaned loudly.

Harry smiled lopsidedly and peered at the small words written at the bottom. "Flitwick wants us to bring all of our Charms textbooks and notes, and ... gloves for Herbology. I guess we're doing some transplanting or re-potting."

"We have lessons!" Hermione looked enthusiastic at the announcement.

"So ... Hermione, Lavender and Parvati. You are to patrol and check the lavatories of the school from three to five. Meet Hannah at two-thirty to be briefed. Neville and Seamus, you are to patrol the library grounds from four to six. Ron, you have night patrol with Dean."

"Wonderful," Ron answered with great sarcasm.

"At least you'll know then that he won't be hitting on your sister," Seamus said meekly.

"You're bloody right about that," Ron muttered darkly.

"What about you, Harry?" Neville asked him.

Harry glanced at the list and recited, "I'm to go with Draco ... and supervise flying lessons with Hooch?" He blinked. With Draco?

However, his eyes were not lying to him. Draco's name was on the list.

"This is great," Harry said dreamily. He did not notice his friends' astonished looks.

Harry and his friends quickly ate their breakfast before bounding up to their tower to get their bags. They met Dean in the common room. They shocked the boy with news of that they had classes and that he would have no time for breakfast.

"We have classes?" Dean moaned.

"Better news, Dean. We're doing the night patrol together." Ron smirked.

"Hell no!"

"Hell yes."

"Hurry up, you two!" Hermione's voice drifted into their dormitory.

"Coming!" Harry yelled. "Hurry up, would you?" he told his friends and trotted down into the common room.

Hermione was braiding her hair by the fireplace and she had a somewhat worried look on her face as Harry went to her side. He could not help but give her a questioning look.

"What has changed, Harry?" Hermione asked softly.

"Nothing has," Harry answered earnestly.

"No, something has." Hermione gave him a penetrating sort of look. "You have."

Harry was ready to deny it. "I haven't, Hermione."

"You're ... light." Hermione frowned. "You don't look so lost anymore."

"Lost?" Harry gazed back at her, perplexed.

"I don't know how to describe it. It's just that ... you feel different. You're more ... here." Hermione shook her head and laughed weakly. "Never mind, Harry."

"Damn. We're going to be late if we don't run now," Seamus said abruptly when he came within sight. In a flash, Seamus was out of the common room.

"Let's get going."

Harry nodded absently and followed Hermione out.

~oOo*oOo~

Everything felt strange to Draco. It felt as though he was a stranger to the castle and his acquaintances. Even the dungeons and the Slytherin common room felt different.

Draco lingered before the notice board and read some of the news clippings on them. Before long, he was disturbed by the movements of someone approaching him. He scowled heavily as that person reached out to touch him.

"Don't touch me," he warned Pansy Parkinson quietly. The idea of being touched by someone else other than Harry or Severus made him sick inside.

"But Draco, I-"

"You what?"

"I'm your-"

"How many times," Draco slowly turned to look at her, "have I told you not to call yourself that?"

Pansy flinched at the sound of his cold voice. "I'm sorry, Draco." Although she sounded humble, he knew she was not being sincere about it.

"I've warned you that I might not like girls."

"I know, but I'm still worried about you. You were gone for so long - what really happened?"

"That's for myself to know, Pansy," Draco said flatly.

"Draco, you know I can't possibly-"

"I know you, Pansy, and I know you'd do anything just to get everybody's attention." Draco's expression was stony. "I don't trust you." He stood back and waited to see if she would respond.

"Oh? So you don't trust me but you can trust a half-blood Gryffindor? What have you been doing? Trying to make him your pet or are you sucking up to him now?" Pansy hissed.

There was an explosion of whispers from one corner of the common room. Draco's lips curled into a slight snarl and his hard, gray eyes looked at the group of Slytherins dangerously until they blabbered something and fled. His eyes flickered back to Pansy.

"I'm not like you, Parkinson," he spat. "Bowing down to someone else is beneath me. And I'm not a weakling - I'm not someone weak and cowardly not to find my own ways to survive." He reined in his temper. "People like you don't deserve my trust."

"People like you don't deserve to have friends! You're nothing but a selfish, self-conceited brat!"

"That is how you know me, Parkinson. That is how I wanted you to know me. Do you know why? I know of all the games you'd play." Draco sneered a little. "People like you don't know what friendship means."

"And you do?"

Draco did not answer her question but swiveled on his foot to leave. "Oh, before I forget ... if you ever utter something degrading about Potter or me again, I'm going to make sure you'll regret it for the rest of your life, Death Eater."

"H-how ... h-h-how..."

Draco left quickly and bumped into Harry as he ascended the staircase. Surprised, he managed to stammer, "What are you doing here?"

"Looking for you obviously," Harry answered with slighty, preoccupied eyes. "Is everything all right? You look slightly pale."

"I always look pale." Draco snorted and stepped into the Entrance Hall.

"You're angry. What happened?" Harry caught his elbow.

"We can't talk here, Harry," Draco said, and rolled his eyes in aggravation.

"Oh. I suppose you're right."

"Come up," he urged Harry. Draco paused and looked over his shoulder. Then he stared at Harry as though it was the first time he had laid eyes on the Gryffindor. Are we lovers? His cheeks felt hot when Harry smiled and gazed fondly at him. He abruptly turned and went up the stairs fast, and he hoped that by the time he reached his temporary haven, his blushes would have cooled off.

A tray of light snacks and glasses of iced pumpkin juice waited on the desk when he entered.

I forgot about lunch, Draco mused. He put his bag down and shrugged off his black school robe.

"What's the rush?" Harry came in just as he was hanging his robe on a hook. The raven-haired teenager closed the door gently and cast several spells to secure it.

"Isn't Severus coming up?" Draco tilted his head to one side and stared at Harry questioningly.

"What? You miss him already?" Harry teased.

Draco scowled.

Harry sighed. "I was just teasing you." The Gryffindor looked coyly at him. "I talked to Severus briefly before I managed to find you. He said he'd join us later in the evening." Harry's expression turned rueful all of a sudden. "I think he's being a workaholic already."

"I hope he's not doing it to escape from his earlier actions," Draco mumbled. Then he shook himself. "Have you eaten?" he asked Harry as he sat down.

"Yes, but can I still have that?" Harry pointed at the glass of pumpkin juice in front of him.

"And what if I say no?" Draco snorted and took one of the glasses. He leaned back and sipped on his drink leisurely.

Harry made a face and sat on the desk. "How did things go for you today?"

"It doesn't feel the same," Draco said softly. "I can't even act the way I once did."

"But you were still intimidating."

"I've been intimidating?" Draco's eyebrow arched elegantly.

Harry blushed.

Draco smiled slightly and raked his hair with his fingers. "Does it make me look weak?" he asked softly.

"You are not weak, Draco," Harry answered just as softly.

Draco moved his gaze toward the window. "I can't even put on a facade ... the Malfoy facade. It's just ... that feels so distant."

"Don't be something you cannot be."

"I am not strong. Doesn't that mean I'm weak?"

Before him, Harry placed his glass on the tray and jumped off the desk. Without speaking to Draco, Harry pulled the glass out of his hand and set it on the desk. Then Harry knelt and pulled Draco into his arms.

Although surprised, Draco was not alarmed by it. He inhaled slowly, and shivered as the scent of cinnamon from Harry's hair invaded his nostrils. That was quite an alluring scent.

"Are you going to let your experience pull you down?" Harry murmured into his chest.

"No. No, I won't," Draco answered after a few minutes. His fingers snaked up to smooth Harry's untidy mane. "It's a shame to waste the rest of my life feeling haunted." Idly, he wondered if he could be as confident as he sounded in the future.

"I nearly forgot!" Harry exclaimed and pulled away. Draco stopped playing with his hair for a moment. "We are to oversee some of our juniors as they practice flying at five."

Draco smiled. "I know. I'm looking forward to that."

At least his love for flying would never change and for that, Draco was happy.

"I'm glad." Then Harry's face fell.

"What's wrong?"

"We have homework." Harry had answered his question so sullenly that a chuckle escaped from Draco's throat before he knew it. "I was so looking forward to rest later."

"You're lazy," Draco said in mock disapproval. "We still have two and a half hours before flying practice. Get your books."

"I don't mind learning and attending classes, but assignments really suck."

"Then how do you expect the teachers to know that you've been using your brain cells to apply your knowledge if they don't give homework?"

Harry stared at him.

"What?"

"Ever fancy yourself as a teacher?"

"Only for potions."

"Poor kids."

"Just what are you trying to insinuate, Harry?"

~oOo*oOo~

At about nine in the evening, Harry, Draco and Severus were settled on the bed once more, and the younger wizards were massaging Severus' feet.

Draco was trying hard to concentrate on his task but he was constantly distracted by memories of his afternoon with Harry. The wizard sitting beside him saw his disgruntled expression but Draco made no move to explain.

Again, Draco saw the flash of gold in Harry's eyes as the Gryffindor flew past him. The silver-haired Slytherin swore under his breath at the image. Why does he have to look so bloody charming when he's flying?

"What is bothering you?" Severus asked, exasperated.

"Put your foot back here," Draco ordered the instant the older wizard removed his left foot. Severus surrendered his limb to Draco. Gray eyes flitted over to watch Harry. "Why do you like Severus?"

"Are you beginning to get a little possessive, Draco?" Harry asked curiously.

Draco rolled his eyes in aggravation. "If you want to know what's bothering me, it's you, Harry Potter. I can't get that image of you racing toward the sun out of my mind."

"Well, well, well," Severus murmured.

"It's making me feel funny inside, Gryffindor, and it's quite uncomfortable, because I am not used to feeling funny inside." Draco snapped his mouth shut. Damn it. He was blushing furiously.

"Er ... sorry," Harry said sheepishly.

"Are you going to answer me?"

"Draco, I don't need to know why he likes me," Severus said in a strained voice.

"I do though." Draco looked stubbornly at the two of them.

"I like the two of you for similar reasons, but there are a couple of differences," Harry said shyly.

"I didn't ask you why you like me," Draco mumbled.

"It's impossible to explain why I like him without explaining why I like you," Harry sighed.

"Hmmmm."

"Both of you are mysterious, and I found you interesting after the talks I had with Severus and Professor McGonagall," Harry said thoughtfully. "I started to admire Severus after it finally sank into my head that he was trying to help me."

Severus snorted and Harry made a face at the Potions Master.

"It's somewhat hard not to like him, once he stopped being an evil git for several moments. My feelings changed, the moment I realized that he was only one who understood what was going on inside me. Inside my head, if not my heart." Harry's eyes became distant. "Ron, Hermione ... it was hard, trying to tell them. But Severus was there."

Draco could not stop studying Harry's facial features. "You were lonely," he observed.

"Yeah. I guess I was." Then Harry snorted with amusement. "It really amazed me that Severus did not kick me out immediately when I had started whining one night."

"So, you admit now that you were whining."

"You listen better when you're provoked," Harry said mischievously. "So, let's talk about why I like you, although you're the third most annoying person."

"Third most?" Draco grinned.

"Hermione is the second most annoying," Harry replied sheepishly. "I know you must be thinking that I should not have been harboring any feelings for you then given that you were, after all, my archenemy."

"You read my mind."

"That isn't possible, Draco, or so Severus says," Harry said after a quick, amused glance at Severus. "Just logical thinking. Anyways, at the beginning of the year, McGonagall said a couple of peculiar things to me. One of them was to look for good things in the bad, and the bad in good."

Draco pursed his lips slightly.

"I started to look into things more deeply. In this case, I started to observe the people around me much more carefully," Harry said. "So I saw how you could be when you're relaxed. I won't lie to you, Draco, but you're quite pleasant to look at."

If I were a bird, I would have preened my feathers off right now.

"I see now why you said differences."

"I won't believe you if you think that there's nothing about you that could attract a person," Draco snorted.

"It's how his hair always fall over his eye when he turns, isn't it?" Harry guessed shrewdly.

"That and his neck. And throat," Draco added in a contemplative voice. "They're nice."

"You forgot one thing, Draco," Harry said suddenly.

"Oh?"

"My voice?" Severus looked dubious.

"Oh, yeah," Draco said belatedly. "I forgot."

~oOo*oOo~

Severus groaned and felt his own cheeks warming with embarrassment. Blessed Merlin. They like my voice? He looked at Harry and then at Draco. Both looked equally abashed.

"That's unbelievable," Severus muttered. "I hope the other students are not as silly as the two of you."

"It's their loss," Draco said with a haughty sniff.

Harry remained silent. Severus looked at the dark-haired man curiously. Harry was looking down at his foot but he was not massaging it.

Then before Severus' eyes, Harry's face turned crimson. That left the older wizard to wonder what had caused Harry's further embarrassment.

Harry started to knead his foot.

"Uhmmmm ... can I ask the two of you something?" Harry had asked the question so softly that Severus had to lean forward to catch every word.

"What?" Draco questioned, his pale eyes filled with curiosity.

"Are the two of you," Harry's voice dropped to a near inaudible whisper, "willing enough to accept me as your lover?"

Silence filled the room almost immediately.

Does he know what he's asking? Severus looked at Harry, who had dropped his emerald eyes to his hands - and Severus' foot.

"Harry," Draco called the Gryffindor softly. "Do you remember your oracle readings?"

"I do but I've thought about this carefully and I want to commit my heart to this."

"You won't be able to change the direction of your journey."

"I know."

Things will never be normal if I ... accept this, Severus thought seriously.

"Severus?"

"You may get hurt."

"There is no me without you. There is no Harry without you," Draco said to him quietly.

Severus buried his face in his hands - he felt greatly hesitant. He had been content with the way he was, until his heart and his soul had started to feel again.

"This is one mistake you can avoid."

How was he going to know if it was the angel whispering in his mind or the devil?

Gods ... I need them.

"It's okay. You don't need to answer immediately. I understand that you need time to make a decision."

"No," Severus said and pulled his fingers away from his face. He observed as sadness filled Harry's eyes. "This is something that I want. But I do not know if I can be a good lover," he whispered.

Draco grinned at him. Harry stared at him with disbelief.

"You're accepting this?" Harry asked, astonished. "You're not rejecting me?"

Severus managed a faint smile.

"So ... we're officially lovers," Harry said and he chuckled shyly.

"Harry, this is quite ridiculous, you know." Although Draco's voice was serious, his eyes were twinkling with mirth. "You could have asked after we had finished our dinner. Proposing to people while holding their feet isn't exactly the trend."

While Harry glared at Draco, Severus laughed softly.

"At least I was thoughtful enough to ask formally, rather than making us all confused."

"And what is that supposed to mean, Four-Eyes?"

"Don't you start being offensive now, Draco."

The older, black-haired wizard sighed and promptly made the candles vanish. The room plunged into sudden darkness, and Draco gave a slight squeak of surprise. Severus pulled his feet from the grasps of the younger men and carefully moved to the far right of the bed. He smiled again as his eyes finally adjusted to the darkness and he could watch Harry and Draco - his lovers now - without the aid of magical illumination.

He observed as Harry poked at Draco, silently urging the silver-haired Slytherin to move. Still smiling, Severus turned to his left. Draco uncertainly lay down on the space beside him and Harry followed soon after.

Harry and Draco spent several minutes after that staring at the ceiling above them.

Severus rolled his eyes upward and inched closer to Draco, who automatically turned to his left.

"Don't you dare turn away from me, Harry," Draco said warningly.

"Who said I was?" Harry had shifted a little so that he was slightly higher than Draco on the bed, almost at the same level as Severus was.

The Potions Master began to stroke Draco's hair and enjoyed the serene quietness that they shared.

"You still haven't told us about the similarities." Draco had buried his face in Harry's chest so his voice came out a little muffled.

Severus shifted his eyes and contemplated Harry's expression.

"I was drawn to the two of you," Harry answered. He raised his arm as though to hold Draco but he unexpectedly planted it on Severus' hip. "I don't know how to explain it still. Ever since Voldemort's death, I have the urge to be near you, to help you, to care for you."

The hand that was on Severus' hip was slowly moving upward. The Potions Master held Harry's emerald eyes as Harry cupped his face. Then he felt Draco pulling at his own hand and Draco placed it near his beating heart.

When Harry bent his head slightly to kiss Draco's forehead, Severus turned his face and brushed his lips gently on the back of Harry's hand.

"It's like ... the two of you were calling out to me," Harry continued. "And I just ... I felt like I need to respond, to be there for you."

It was minutes before anyone spoke again.

"A change is upon us," Severus murmured.

"True."

Severus leaned closer to Draco and after being reassured by Draco that he was not uncomfortable being sandwiched by two black-haired wizards, Severus closed his eyes.

"Goodnight," Harry said softly.

"Goodnight," Draco answered sleepily.

"Sweet dreams," Severus whispered and kissed Draco's temple.

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To Be Continued On Chapter Fifteen