Adamo Redamo

Dedicated: To Nancy, the big pervy t00b.

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Adamo Redamo
Chapter 5

Osculum

"Well... it's roomy." Hermione remarked, a small smile playing on her lips. Harry had to chuckle at her keen sense of the obvious; you could clearly fit the whole Hogwarts student body here, with room left over. Just what was Dumbledore planning? Eyes narrowed, Harry glanced curiously at their esteemed Headmaster. He was currently watching them with a look of guarded mirth that only fueled Harry's inquisitive mind.

"Your safety of all of you depends on remaining in this castle. No friends, no family, no owls... nothing that might alert outside forces to your presence here." He allowed a moment for the words to sink in, but Harry's mind was buzzing too loud to take it all in. "This castle has stood vacant for as long as I can recall. The portraits, lonely and in desperate need of excitement, will no doubt take a liking to you lot. Anything you could possibly need will be provided, and what we can not give you, you will learn to create."

"With all due respect Professor, why...?"

All eyes snapped to Draco. Dumbledore sat down, urging them to do the same. "Settle in tonight, rest your weary minds. I will return in the morning with the answers you seek. You... have an entire castle to yourselves."

Clearly an effort to change the subject, but Harry had to give the old man credit when due. He had a sudden image of the four of them running willy-nilly through the halls. He looked up at Ron, knowing that the smirk forming on his face meant he'd been thinking along those same lines. No amount of mind-speak was needed with Ron after all these years. "Thank you, Professor. Goodnight."

Dumbledore moved through the front doors, sealing them as he left with a warding spell Harry wasn't sure even Hermione had ever heard of. The four of them sat in silence for a moment, not sure what to do next.

Slowly, the castle started to come alive around them.

Portraits waved, shouting out welcome in as many different languages as they knew. Three house elves timidly stepped forward with something that smelled like dinner. There was even an outpouring of ghosts, each clamoring to get a better glance at their new houseguests. An enchanted flute began to play a sweet tune, as hundreds of candles illuminated the room above them. For a silly moment, Harry felt eleven again. "Wow."

"I wonder, do we have a library?" Hermione asked, glancing longingly towards the stairs.

"You would, Granger," Draco chided, lightly.

"Well, we must certainly keep up on our studies... don't look at me like that, Ron Weasley!"

Ron flung his hands in the air, admitting defeat. Harry questioned her sudden need to be studying, but knowing Hermione as he did, she had to be looking for a way to connect herself to something grounding, something familiar. He hadfelt the pang as well, more so when he had been chasing the snitch with Draco. Quidditch was something he wouldn't be playing anytime soon; it wasn't something he could curl up in bed with like a good book. Of course, there were... other things around here he would not mind curling up in bed with; not to mention other people.

Draco cleared his throat, causing Harry to fight back a snicker. It was becoming quite adorable, the way Draco flushed to the tips of his ears after overhearing Harry's thoughts. It was not as if Harry could help it any longer, not tonight at any rate. He was tired, hungry and in serious need of making sure Hermione did not find the library until next week at the very least. "Why don't we eat, and then do a little exploring?" he proposed, smiling as the house elves began ushering the group towards a small table.

"We not knowing what new Masters like for dinner! We make everything!" the smallest exclaimed, wringing its little hands nervously. Harry watched as Hermione bent down to the elf's level. "Thank you, ever so much," she said, before taking her seat. The elf scurried off, as Hermione muttered something to herself about respecting house elves.

True to the elves' word, dinner included a little of everything. This was fortunate for Harry, since he could not recall the last time he had eaten a real meal. Ron dug in with his usual gusto, earning a half-disgusted glare from Hermione. Before too long, the dishes had disappeared, only to reappear a moment later with their pudding. Across from him, Draco poked at his plate, his brow furrowed in concentration. A slight wave of nausea hit Harry then, and he pushed his plate away in haste.

Was Draco shielding... correction, trying to shield himself again? He lifted his eyes, but Draco refused to look up. //You don't actually want to be nursing a fever all night, do you?//

Draco finally looked up at him. //I just... it's crowded with everyone in here all the time. I need a little quiet time.//

Harry nodded in understanding. Shielding the bond would only bring sickness, a fun side effect that ranked high on Harry's list of questions for Dumbledore, and he wished he could give Draco the quietness he wanted. //If I knew how...//

//I know.// Draco pushed away from the table then, resignation settling over his features.

Harry followed him with his eyes, wanting to follow him, but figured if Draco wanted to be alone...

Instead, he got up himself, wandering around the room. Before him was a grand staircase, carved entirely from wood. The stairs led to a long hallway, filled with portraits all clamoring to a good look at him. It was dark, but as he took a few cautious steps, the candles in the wall sconces lit the path. It was after he'd been walking for a few minutes that the hair on the back of his neck stood up. Spinning around, he came face to face with Draco. "Sneaking up on me?"

Draco shrugged. "I had the feeling they wanted to be alone down there, and the thought of having to watch Weasley and Granger snog made me decide to search out a turret to hurl myself from..."

Harry snickered and wondered if there was more to it, but Draco's mind was carefully devoid of anything circumspect. "Told you I wanted to go exploring. I wonder how big this place really is," He cautiously opened a door, coughing a bit at the dust. A half a dozen desk sat in a semi-circle, with a podium in the center. "Looks like a classroom."

"My, your detective skills astound me, Potter. They don't expect us to sleep in such conditions...?" Draco said, from a bit too close to Harry's ear than he expected. Harry brought his mind to the spider crawling across the floor and shut the door. Across from them another staircase spiraled up, a transparent ghost floating lazily near the top. He felt Draco tug on the back of his jumper. "Lead the way, boy wonder."

"Right." And he did, letting himself enjoy the time alone with Draco. Ron and Hermione were decidedly quiet, and he assumed they had found a way to keep themselves... er... occupied. //Please, no more with the Granger-Weasley snogging...//

Harry laughed out loud. "Sorry. What would you suggest I think about then?"

Draco cocked his head, watching him as they walked. "I wouldn't presume to tell you that. I did figure you had more decorum than to spy on your best friends."

"I can hardly help it; I think I heard a moan just now." He had to bite his lip to keep from laughing.

"The only moans you're going to hear are moans of pain if you continue this line of thinking..."

And then the words tumbled from his mouth before he could get a rein on them. "Think you can make me moan then, Malfoy?"

Draco's steps didn't falter, but Harry could see a blush rising high on his cheeks. "Oh look, bedrooms."

Indeed. "No dust up here, it seems." He opened the door, which led to a beautifully appointed bedroom. He could see Draco's trunk placed at the foot of the bed. "Ah, your room then."

Regarding the room with a critical eye, Draco strolled around. "I suppose it'll do." There was a long moment of silence, that wasn't as awkward as Harry had been expecting. Draco refrained from looking at him, and Harry could tell that he was doing everything he could to not think about what was dancing so obviously between them.

Well, Harry reckoned he could certainly understand. It was... and Draco wasn't... but this kind of thinking...

"Do you know what Adamo Redamo means, Harry?" Draco turned to face him.

Startled, Harry looked up, noticing how tired Draco looked. The fact that Draco had used his name didn't go unnoticed either. "No..."

"Adamo: to love deeply; Redamo: to love in return. I hardly think we're in love with one another Harry, but... something's going on."

Harry's stomach was suddenly filled with butterflies. "You don't think it's real," he said, taking a step closer. "You think it's the curse."

Draco didn't reply, but instead walked over to the window, staring out.

Right then.

"I'll just... find my room. Um... right. Goodnight, Draco." He moved towards the door and reached for the doorknob, but before he could open it, Draco spun him around, pressing him against the door with a kiss.

Oh my.

It was as if all the air in the room had suddenly been pulled out. Fire raced up his back, as the entire world became focused inside one, nearly chaste kiss. He could feel Draco's mind whirling madly, a mess of emotions that threatened to crash down upon them at any moment...

And then Draco pulled back, catching his breath. He looked terrified. "I... I'm sorry." He stepped away from Harry, and Harry could see that his hands were shaking.

"Draco-"

"We're both tired. Get some sleep, Harry." He did manage a half-smile then, but Harry could feel the weariness surrounding both of them.

Looking down, Harry nodded and left the room.

//I can't believe he kissed me...//

Had he looked back, he would have seen Draco smiling at him.

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Alone now in his bedroom, Draco took in the plush surroundings. Toeing his shoes off, he delighted in the way his feet sunk into the carpet as he walked. Tiredly dragging his robe from his shoulders, he sank into the squashy duvet. Merlin. His whole body seemed to melt, longing for the rest sleep offered. He briefly considered changing clothes, but the effort seemed too much.

Besides, his shirt somehow smelled of Harry.

Harry. Who was probably getting undressed in the next room...

Harry whom he had just snogged. He rolled over, hiding his face in the pillows.

Had someone taken him aside two short weeks ago, and told him he would be lying in bed, wondering whether Harry Potter wore boxers or briefs, he would have hexed them into next year. He wondered about the Slytherins. Were they curious about where he was? Who was going to play Seeker? And what of his parents?

More importantly, what of Lucius Malfoy?

He hardly saw his father being agreeable with the whole thing. Stranger still, he had heard not a word from his parents since all of this began. Surely, they would have heard that he had been... cursed.

Right?

Then again, since none of his Slytherin cronies knew about it, they could not very well go reporting it to their snitch parents. "Just as well," he mumbled, trying to pull the duvet free with one hand. It came away quicker than he had expected, and he sat up. A small house elf stood smiling at him.

Draco had never been fond of house elves. Servants. Whatever. They seemed to pop up at the most inopportune times, and the elf he'd had before arriving at Hogwarts got him into trouble whenever he could. Still, this one was holding his pajamas out in one hand, and a glass of warm milk in the other. "You is needing to change now. Master Harry already in bed."

He fixed the elf with what he hoped was a glare. "Well? I can't very well change with you watching me."

Scurrying over towards his nightstand, the tiny elf placed the milk down and ran from the room. He supposed it was not the kind of treatment Harry had given the elf, but he was not Harry. Glancing down, he tugged the fabric of his shirt to his nose. It smelled of the cold air outside, and the soft, subtle Harry smell that had lingered on him that morning. Okay, so he wasn't going to take his shirt off, but he did take the time to change into pajama bottoms. //A man has to be comfortable...//

He could sense Harry's amusement through their bond, and had a smile on his face as he burrowed under the blankets. //Find me funny, do you?//

//Only funny looking, Malfoy.//

//Weren't complaining ten minutes ago, were you?//

//Goodnight, Malfoy.//

//Goodnight, Potter.//

Harry's obvious mirth was clouded with fatigue; a feeling Draco knew all too well at this point. Yet he could not seem to shut his mind down. Thoughts of flying against the wind with Harry, pressed close against the other boyas they darted and sliced through the night sky came to mind.

The softness of Harry's lips against his own, and the taste of him...

It scared him, it thrilled him tremendously, and it was not exactly something he had not thought of before. Granted, Harry had never been a part of his adolescent musings, but hadn't he always wondered what it would be like with another boy?

Well, not always.

There was just that one time with Justin Finch-Fletchley in the Prefect's Bath. And it wasn't his fault the tosser hadn't locked the door behind him. So... all he really had was Harry cuddled close to his chest and three minutes of watching that Hufflepuff polish his wand and, to his dying day, he'd always wonder if Justin's wand shot sparks.

Was it just Harry then?

Would Harry disgust him, lying coldly in the bed as Pansy had? Would Harry sleep with him and then proceed to fuck anything that walks as Susan Bones had? Whores. No, Harry Potter was not, and would never be anyone's whore.

//You're better off with me...//

Startled, Draco forgot that Harry had been privy to his rather jumbled thoughts. Luckily, he could sense that Ron and Hermione were asleep. Harry was nearly asleep as well. Draco wondered if Harry was even aware thatthe thought had passed between them. Rubbing at the goose pimples that raced up his arms, he wondered just how much more convincing he was going to need.

Curse or not, he was attracted to Harry and... had Harry really said that? Had he imagined it?

//...was me; now get to sleep before you think us both to death.//

"Well... fuck me," he muttered, not without a smile.

Yes. It was definitely just Harry.

~*~*~*~

"Harry? You awake?"

Blinking at the intrusion, Harry reached for his glasses. "Yeah, yeah, just give me a minute."

"You always were a morning person, you know," Ron teased, perching on the end of Harry's bed. "Hermione's spoken with Dumbledore; he's on his way over here. Oh, and we've our choice of breakfast this morning as well."

That was all well and good, but Harry found his mind lurching suddenly to the last words he'd spoken the night before. Bugger. Had he really told Draco he was better off with him? Looking up at Ron, he could tell he'd just missed the rest of what Ron had come in to tell him. "Sorry," he said, sheepishly.

Ron sighed, shaking his head. "Whatever happened with Malfoy, Harry, he's been polite to us all morning. Helped Hermione set the table, even. Wouldn't let us wake you up."

Harry blushed. "What do you mean, happened?"

"The two of you disappear for an hour, and you're blushing..." he paused. "Anyway, Hermione told me that if you don't get yourself downstairs, she's coming up to get you herself," Ron quipped, rising from the bed.

Throwing a pillow at him, Harry collapsed back into the bed. Great, they were all going to be sitting there, waiting for him. He hated that. This mind-link was making it increasingly difficult to have a secret crush. Some secret now, he groaned. So now what? He couldn't go around all day making gooey eyes at Draco. Not if he wanted to keep his eyes, that is. "That's it, I'm staying here all day," he said, shaking his head. Covers pulled up over his head, he felt rather than saw Draco come in.

"Come on now, where's that Gryffindor bravery?"

"Ha, bloody ha," he muttered, not ready to face Draco.

"What's wrong, Harry, afraid of making... gooey eyes at me?" Draco joked, a little too close to the bed for Harry's comfort.

He sat up, pulling the blankets away. "Good morning to you too."

Draco regarded him for a moment, giving Harry the impression that he was staring directly into his soul. He sat on the bed, looking better than anyone had a right to at nine in the morning, and leaned forward, kissing Harry softly.

Oh, he had to have more of this, and now.

Gasping, Harry wrapped his arm around the back of Draco's neck, deepening the kiss. He felt Draco's tongue sliding across his lips, seeking entrance, and moved closer to him. The kiss became wilder then, as Draco tangled a hand in his hair, moaning softly.

He wanted to kiss him all morning, and then maybe some of the afternoon and...

//Wow...//

Pulling back and catching his breath, Draco nodded. "We should go eat breakfast, see what pearls of wisdom Dumbledore has for us." He smiled, tracing Harry's lower lip with his thumb. The action caused Harry to shiver. Harry was smiling a rather goofy smile, face flushed pink. "So that's what gooey eyes look like. I'd been wondering, you know."

Harry groaned, his cheeks burning bright red. "You are such a prat. Now get out of here so I can shower."

"Wow, Potter. A few kisses and you need a cold shower," he teased, winking before leaving Harry alone with his thoughts.

"Bloody hell." He smiled to himself, feeling giddy and terrified at the same time. Cold shower indeed.

To Be Continued.

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