Blackmail

Chapter 2

Harry woke. Harry woke feeling cold, dirty, vulnerable, and… alone. He looked around. Malfoy wasn’t there. Well of course he wouldn’t be. You didn’t expect him to stick around, did you? Harry thought. He got what he wanted so he left. And that’s that.

Harry stood up and stumbled around, looking for his clothes. There was still a ray of light peeking in from a high window. So it was still the same day. Though he had probably missed most of his classes, since he fell asleep right after… Harry gulped. Right after he and Malfoy had done the deed.

He grabbed his pants and shirt, pulling them on as he thought back to what had taken place only a few hours ago. Yes, he had given Malfoy what he had wanted. And he had liked it. He had shivered at every touch, moaned at every caress… Lord, why did it have to be Malfoy? He thought despairingly. He quickly threw on his Hogwarts robes, and cautiously peered out the door. There was a loud roar of voices coming from the direction of the Great Hall. Okay, so it’s either lunch or dinner. He looked back up at the lone window in the empty classroom. There was a bit of red mingled in with the bright sunlight. Dinner. So in addition to Charms, I’ve missed Care of Magical Creatures and Potions. Harry smiled wryly to himself. Potions, eh? Well at least one good thing has come out of this. He took a deep breath, straightened his clothes, and walked out of the silent room.

He entered the Great Hall with his head bowed, restraining himself from looking over at the Slytherin table and took a seat next to Ron and Hermione, who were both staring wide-eyed at him.
"Harry? Where have you been? Ron and I have been so worried about you," Hermione said, agitated.

Ron nodded fervently. "Don’t you know that you’ve missed all your classes?"

Harry cast them both a sad smile and sunk into his seat. "I know, Ron. I’m sorry."

Hermione paused for a beat, got impatient, and repeated, "Where have you been?"

He winced. "Erm… it’s kind of a long story."

Hermione’s eyes narrowed. "Harry, we have been worried sick about you all day. We even skipped the first part of Hagrid’s class to look for you-"

"Luckily, he didn’t notice we weren’t there, since Neville got himself bitten by a faunter after the first two minutes. It caused a bit of commotion, to put it lightly." Ron cut in. At Hermione’s harsh glare he added hastily, "but that’s beside the point."

Hermione turned her stare back to Harry. "I think we deserve an explanation, Harry. It’s the least you can do."

He shifted uncomfortably. "Um…well, see…"

Harry was saved from any further explaining by Professor Dumbledore standing up in order to make a few announcements. Hermione gave him a look that clearly stated that they were going to talk about this later before giving her full attention to Dumbledore.

Harry slumped further down in his seat, staring at his empty plate, somehow not even feeling the least bit hungry even though all he ate today was a piece of toast at breakfast.

* * *

After dinner, Harry avoided more inquiries from Ron and Hermione and quickly made his way up to the Gryffindor dormitories. There, he flopped down onto his bed, pulled the hangings around him, and threw one arm over his eyes. He wondered what Malfoy was doing right now. Maybe he felt bad about what happened, which is why he didn’t stick around. Harry snorted. Malfoy? Feel bad about something? Not in this lifetime.

Perhaps he was off gloating to his Slytherin friends about his triumph over Harry. That he had soiled perfect Potter’s reputation. "Oh God…" an anguished cry escaped Harry’s lips as that possibility occurred to him. By tomorrow, this story could be all over Hogwarts. Everyone will shy away from me in the halls, whispers will follow me everywhere and people will talk about me behind closed doors. Ron will be disgusted, and abandon me, and Hermione will walk around with that disapproving look she always gets when I’ve done something wrong. The Professors… oh, Lord, what will the Professors think? Even Dumbledore will desert me. And no one would know that I only did this to protect Sirius. Even if I told them, they wouldn’t believe me.

These thoughts were almost unbearable. He let out a low moan as tears threatened to spill over the rims of his emerald eyes. This is all Malfoy’s fault. If only he’d… he stopped mid-thought. If Malfoy had only… what? If he hadn’t intercepted that owl? No, that wasn’t right. If he hadn’t been so… attracted to him?

Harry sighed to himself as he felt the beginnings of sleep start to consume him. "I can’t take this," he muttered to himself. "I have to many other things to deal with… I don’t need this right now. Hell, I don’t need this ever." Harry yawned and curled up into a ball. It didn’t matter that he had already spent the majority of his day asleep. This inner torment was wearing him down; he needed sleep. He’d figure this out tomorrow.

* * *

Harry walked dismally down the stairs to the Great Hall the next morning, one hand clutching the railing as if he was hanging on for dear life. Despite the hours of sleep he had gotten the day before, he was still dead tired. There were dark circles under his eyes and his eyelids felt like lead weights were dangling from them.

He reached the bottom of the staircase and felt his knees give way. He grasped the circular end of the railing and fruitlessly tried to pull himself up. Harry finally gave up and sat down heavily on the bottom step, rubbing his eyes. Pull yourself together, Potter, he told himself. Then he heard the last voice he wanted to hear.

"Why, Potter, you look terrible," it drawled.

Harry wretched his eyes opened and stared up at Malfoy’s smirking face. Get up, Potter, get up! Don’t let him know how weak you feel!

He struggled to his feet, leaning rigidly against the railing. "Malfoy." He acknowledged.

"What’s the matter, Potter? Still tired from yesterday?" he sneered.

Harry flushed. "You-"

"Want me to kiss you and make it all better?" he interrupted, a malicious grin spreading across his face.

Harry drew his brow together and narrowed his eyes, glaring at him.

"What’s wrong?" Malfoy asked innocently. "You didn’t seem to mind me kissing you yesterday."

Suddenly, tiredness turned into anger. How dare Malfoy say these things to him? Hasn’t he suffered enough already? Well he wasn’t going to take it anymore, that’s for sure.

Harry straightened up and crossed his arms, staring furiously at Malfoy. "I only agreed to do that with you to save my godfather. You’re the perverted one here, Malfoy, don’t you forget that. You are the only person I know that would make your worst enemy sleep with you."

Malfoy’s voice lowered as he stared daggers at him. "Better be careful, Potter," he said slowly as he reached into his robes and took out a brown envelope.

Harry instantly knew what it was. "Why do you still have Sirius’ letter?"

Malfoy grinned. "Maybe I’m not done using it yet."

"But… but…" he spluttered, trying to make sense of the situation. "We… you already…"

"I know, Potter. But I figure I might as well milk this for all it’s worth."

Harry shook furiously. "Give me that letter."

Malfoy smirked and waved it around. "I don’t think so."

But Harry, with his Seekers reflexes, reached out and snatched the letter away from the Slytherin. Malfoy started in surprise, but soon got his emotions under control.

"You’ll pay for that, Potter. You’d better watch your back from now on," he spat spitefully.

Harry deliberately tucked the letter away, then crossed his arms and said coldly, "Don’t worry. I’ll be ready."