Immortalitas Aestas

The alarm clock went off and Harry sat up suddenly, arms flailing in surprise.

It was Friday.

Groaning, Harry fell back against his pillow trying to wrap his brain around the idea that it was apparently time to get up, alarm still blaring loudly.

"Harry," Ron said sleepily, yawning wildly. "Turn that off."

Reaching out a hand, he turned off the simple Muggle alarm he'd always favored over the Wizarding kind, which required use of his wand and the remembering a spell first thing in the morning, when Harry was definitely not at his best. He could hear his other roommates moving around, signaling again that it was indeed time to get up. Harry rubbed his eyes blearily; he was so tired.

The sun was streaming in through the window next to his bed, and Harry shut his eyes against the glare, groaning again as he pushed himself up into a sitting position. He reached one hand out for his glasses, sliding them on, and used his other hand to shove himself off the bed. Stumbling over the blankets that had been immediately tossed to the floor the previous night, he slammed his shoulder roughly into the wardrobe.

"Ouch," he mumbled, rubbing at his sore shoulder. He opened his wardrobe and blindly reached in, pulling out a set of clothes and double-checking to make sure he had one of everything he needed. Harry stared at himself in the mirror hanging on the door. He looked exhausted. Sighing to himself, he shut the wardrobe doors, heading out of the room and up the stairs towards the showers.

Today was Friday. Tonight, Draco would head to Malfoy Manor to try and retrieve the book that would hopefully end this heat spell. Tonight, Draco would be putting himself in enormous danger. After today, Harry may never see Draco again.

But Harry didn't want to think about that.

As soon as he opened the doors to the shower room, the heat assaulted him, stealing his breath. It was terribly hot in the room, especially with the unavoidable steam from the showers. Sighing, Harry stripped his boxers off, setting his glasses carefully on his pile of clean clothes.

Unable to help the direction of his thoughts, they again traveled to Draco's upcoming mission, and the knot of worry in Harry's stomach grew.

What if someone sees him trying to get through the wards?

Impossible. No one ever ventured near enough to the Manor. Their fear of Lucius made sure of that. Of course, Lucius could always have someone standing guard over the Manor.... Harry shook his head to clear that thought away.

What if he can't get through the wards?

Of course he would be able to. He could cast all of the spells he needed without any trouble. Dumbledore wouldn't send him if he weren't ready.

What if Lucius catches him?

NO.

Harry roughly turned the faucet, yelping slightly at the freezing cold water that ran down on him. He was not going to think about anything going wrong; his sanity couldn't handle it.

Finishing up in the shower, he turned the water off, and reached for his towel, drying off quickly. He tied the towel around his waist and stepped out of the stall, placing his glasses carefully on the bridge of his nose after defogging them with a quickly muttered charm.

Dressing hurriedly, Harry then headed over to the sink to brush his teeth and try to do something with his hair. Unfortunately, the mirror took that moment to speak.

"Are you all right, dear?" it asked kindly. "You look worried about something."

Great, Harry thought with a scowl. Even inanimate objects could see he was worried.

"I'm fine," he said through gritted teeth, clearly letting the mirror know its opinion was not appreciated.

"Of course you are, dear," it replied smoothly. Harry began to attempt to brush his hair, then gave up before actually starting, knowing without trying that the action would be in vain.

He headed out of the shower room, taking a deep breath of the less hot air in the hallway, then headed towards his dormitory to pick up his books. Glancing at the clock he realized he was running late, so he hurried down the stairs and into the common room, nearly running down a first year in his haste.

"Sorry," he said, reaching out a hand to steady her. "I didn't see you."

"That's okay," she said a bit breathlessly, no doubt in awe over the fact that she'd just been touched by the Harry Potter.

Muttering a curse word, Harry released her and climbed through the portrait hole, nearly tumbling out of the entrance in his hurry to leave the Tower.

Get a hold of yourself, Harry, he chastised silently. It won't do any good for people to see you upset.

Stepping down upon the last flight of stairs, his feet slipped out from under him, causing him to nearly tumble down the remaining steps. Looking up at the offending stair crossly, he saw a quill on the step that had obviously been dropped. It was becoming apparent that today was not going to be his day.

Pushing open the door to the Great Hall, he headed directly towards the Gryffindor table, ignoring the looks that seemed to follow him everywhere. Muttering about stupid people dropping quills on the stairs and attempting to kill him, Harry sat next to Hermione, who glanced up from her book.

"Bad morning?" she asked, trying to hide her smile.

"Very funny," he muttered, reaching for the bowl of eggs and putting a small amount on his plate. He didn't actually think he could eat anything, afraid that even the smallest amount of food would make him ill. So instead, he picked up his fork and proceeded to push them around his plate.

"Okay, Harry?" Hermione asked again, this time looking at him in concern.

"No, not really," Harry said, knowing that he wouldn't need to say anything else.

She nodded then turned back to her book. Harry stared mutinously at his eggs for another moment before deciding that he needed to get out of the Great Hall before he really did throw up. Standing suddenly, he gathered his books.

"I'll see you later, Hermione," Harry said, spinning around and knocking directly into the person standing behind him.

"Goodness, Harry, there was no need to get up on my account," a voice said, laughing slightly.

Draco.

For a second, Harry was almost consumed with the desire to just wrap his arms around Draco and never let go. It must have shown on his face, because Draco didn't say anything else. Under that piercing grey gaze, Harry felt the rest of the Great Hall disappear, and wouldn't have been surprised to learn that they were the only two people on the planet.

Seeming to find the answer to a question that he'd yet to ask, Draco said, "Right, then, let's go for a walk."

"I've got class," Harry protested weakly, allowing Draco to grab him by the elbow and propel him out of the Great Hall, much to the interest of everyone else in the room.

"As do I," Draco replied, not yet relinquishing him. "And we'll go. But not quite yet."

He pushed open one of the outside doors and lead Harry down the steps. "Shall we walk along the lake?"

Harry blinked against the sudden brightness of the sun. He couldn't believe how warm it was already. "Uh ... sure."

Draco stopped walking, turning to look at him. Harry stared back, unsure of what else to do. Draco then slid his hand from its place on Harry's elbow, down until he was grasping his hand, thumb rubbing briefly across the back. Harry nearly sighed at the contact, then realized he was standing in the middle of the Hogwarts front lawn, holding hands with Draco Malfoy, and quickly dropped his hand.

Draco smiled at him, glancing around, eyes landing on the group of Hufflepuffs that were making their way to the Greenhouses. "Didn't you want to give them something to talk about?" he asked with a devilish grin.

"No, not really," Harry said. "I think I give them enough to talk about as it is."

Draco nodded, again taking him by the elbow, and leading him towards the lake. Once along the edge, Harry sank down upon a tree stump, unsure if his legs would carry him any further. He was so tired.

"You're worried," Draco said mildly, as if he were commenting on the weather.

"And you aren't?" Harry snapped, then sighed. "Sorry," he muttered.

Draco shook his head, acknowledging the apology. "Of course I'm worried."

"Well you sure aren't acting like it," Harry said petulantly.

"I can't let anyone see I'm worried," Draco explained, dropping down on his knees in front of the Harry to bring them to eye level. "I don't want anyone asking any questions."

Harry closed his eyes, drawing in a deep breath. "I know," he said after releasing it. "I'm sorry. I'm just ... scared." He felt Draco bring his hands up to gently cup his face. "I'm scared that I may never see you again," he admitted in a whisper.

"Oh, Harry," Draco said, voice full of an emotion Harry couldn't quite name. "I'll be okay. I promise. I'll come back."

"You promise?" Harry demanded, wanting to hear Draco say it again. He opened his eyes, looking directly into Draco's own.

"I promise," Draco said, leaning forward to rest his forehead against Harry's. "And a Malfoy never breaks a promise."

"Malfoy Rules to Live By?" Harry asked with a small smile, reaching up to rest his hand on the curve of Draco's shoulder.

"Something like that," Draco replied softly, tilting his head to give Harry a kiss. "Come on," he said after breaking the kiss, standing up and brushing the dirt off the knees of his trousers. "We don't want to be late for class."

"We don't?" Harry whined slightly, but stood anyway, reaching back down to retrieve his books.

Draco grinned, shrugging. "Well, maybe we do, but it wouldn't be a good idea." He bent down and picked up his book bag, slinging it over one shoulder.

Harry stared out over the lake for a moment. All he really wanted was to go back to bed; the heat was zapping his energy, and he felt sluggish. Draco stepped in front of him, blocking his view of the water, and pulled Harry close to him, wrapping his arms securely around him.

Harry closed his eyes and settled his head on the other boy's shoulder, sighing in contentment. Draco held him for a long while, rubbing between his shoulder blades with one hand gently, in a soothing motion. Harry finally pulled away slightly, knowing that he needed to get to class before anyone realized they were missing. Draco leaned forward and placed a gentle kiss on Harry's lips, then stepped back.

"Ready?" he asked, eyebrow arched slightly.

"I suppose," Harry relented, turning to walk back towards the school. They walked side by side, neither saying anything, absorbed in their thoughts.

Upon crossing the threshold, Harry was startled from his reverie by an owl, who was hooting indignantly and holding an envelope with his name on it.

"Er, thanks," Harry said awkwardly, reaching out to take the letter. The owl was obviously put out about having to wait so long for him, and cuffed him on the head with one of its wings as it took off outside. Rubbing his head absently, he turned the envelope over, seeing the Hogwarts crest on the back.

"Were you expecting something?" Draco asked, tilting his head to get a better look at the envelope.

"Hmm," Harry responded. He broke the seal on the back and pulled out a letter, opening it carefully. "It's from Snape," he said mournfully. "It must be about my detention."

"Well, read it," Draco said, amused.

Harry sighed. The letter read:

Mr. Potter,

You will be serving your detention this evening at eight o'clock sharp in the Potions classroom. Ten points will be deducted for every minute you are late.

Sincerely,

Professor S. Snape

Potions Master

Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry

"Oh, he's got wonderful timing," Harry snapped, viciously shoving the letter back into the envelope.

Draco didn't say anything, merely regarding Harry with an arch of his eyebrow.

Harry scowled at him, pushing the envelope inside his copy of Unfogging the Future. "I guess I'll see you in Potions," he said, once he was a bit more composed.

"Yes, I suppose you will." Draco grinned at Harry's expression. "We'll be partners, okay?"

"Of course," Harry replied, starting to walk towards the main staircase.

"See you then," Draco said, hitching his bag up higher on his shoulder and turning on one heel, walking to class as if he owned the place.

Harry watched him until he couldn't see him anymore, then decided he'd best head to class himself, as he was already late. He hurriedly climbed the stairs, finally coming to the ladder that would allow him entrance into the Divination room. Harry pushed open the trapdoor, nearly choking on the heavily perfumed air, the heat momentarily making him dizzy.

"Mr. Potter!" Trelawny suddenly exclaimed upon his appearance. "Oh, I'm so glad you're all right! I've had a horrible vision about you! You are in grave danger!" Her voice quavered to give her the maximum effect, eyes blinking myopically behind her glasses.

"Of course I am," Harry muttered, causing Seamus and Dean to laugh and Lavender and Parvati to sniff as if he'd insulted them. He settled next to Ron, who leaned over to whisper to him.

"Where were you? I asked Hermione, but she wouldn't tell me."

"I was with Draco," Harry whispered back, carefully watching his reaction.

"Oh. Oh, of course. He, well, he's, you know, tonight."

Eloquent as always, Harry thought with a grin, but instead said, "Yes, tonight."

"I hope everything goes okay," Ron said quietly.

"So do I, Ron," Harry replied, closing his eyes. "So do I."

***

For Draco, classes had never passed so slowly. Even his most favorite subjects failed to hold his interest. He'd found himself drifting off during Ancient Runes, content to simply count the stones in the ceiling overhead rather than take notes. In Arithmancy, Professor Vector had assigned several equations for homework but had given them time to work on them in class. Draco had been surprised upon glancing down at his parchment that instead of the calculations, he'd written Harry's name, over and over.

And Potions wasn't any better.

Snape had begun class with a warning that the students had better not be taking the Cooling Potion on a regular basis, as repeated use would begin to cause harm. Apparently a few people had been indulging themselves and had wound up in the Infirmary. Draco had rolled his eyes at this; Snape had said when he'd assigned the potion in the first place that it wasn't to be taken just because you were feeling uncomfortably hot.

After his brief discussion about how stupid people, mainly from houses above the level of the dungeons apparently were, Snape had turned to the blackboard, and began to lecture about another potion, which would be brewed the next week, although in his daze Draco had missed the name. He didn't take a single note, figuring that he could easily borrow them from Pansy.

He'd turned his attention instead to the black-haired boy next to him. After all, he mused, it was much more pleasant to do a study of Harry rather than what you got when you combined eye of newt and lavender oil and stirred fifty-two times counterclockwise.

He'd sat himself on the inside of their table, angling his body towards the front of the room, which had also given him a perfect view of Harry. He was again wearing a red polo shirt, with only the bottom two buttons fastened. His black hair was slightly damp with sweat and tumbling wildly around his face, ends curling slightly around his ears in what Draco considered a very fetching manner. His glasses kept sliding down his nose, to be pushed back up irritably, only to slide down again.

Harry looked to be taking notes, although that wasn't what he was doing at all. His parchment was covered in crude sketches of what appeared to be Quidditch strategies, although there was a very detailed drawing of a snitch in one corner. Draco grinned; it was obvious what subject Harry considered more important.

After his classes were complete, Draco met briefly with his Slytherin Quidditch teammates, just to see if anyone had anything important to say. Determining that it was once again too hot to practice, Draco concluded the meeting with a pointed, "When we do resume practice I expect you all to be at the top of your forms," conveniently not mentioning exactly how he planned on doing this himself.

He'd then left the rest of his teammates and gone outside, heading immediately for the shade along the edge of the Forbidden Forest. He sat down under the same tree he and Harry had sat under the first time they'd actually spent time together and thought about his journey to Malfoy Manor that was to take place in, and here he glanced at his watch, precisely four hours and twenty two minutes.

The plan of action for this evening was simple. He and Sirius would apparate from just outside the Hogwarts' gates at exactly seven o'clock. Their apparation destination was about a half a mile outside the grounds; any closer and they would run the risk of setting off the anti-apparation wards on the Manor. They would then walk the rest of the way, with Sirius only accompanying Draco half of the way. Draco would finish the rest of the trek by himself. He would then cast his spells to get through the fencing around the Manor, sneak into the house itself, and retrieve Caligo Devotio from its place in the library. He would then sneak back out of the house, across the grounds, back through the fencing, where he would end his spells, meet back up with Sirius, and the two of them would apparate back to Hogwarts. The total "mission" was only supposed to take about two hours to complete.

Of course, that was the idea in theory. Draco knew better than to expect anything involving his former home to go off exactly as planned. He honestly didn't know what dangers would be waiting for him once he was inside the grounds, and actually preferred not to think about it.

He sat outside for a long time, wanting to avoid any of his housemates who no doubt were wondering why he was acting so strangely. Finally it was time for dinner, and he wandered back inside slowly, not really wanting to eat anything but knowing that it would be expected that he be there. He entered the Great Hall and weaved his way over to the Slytherin table, taking his usual spot next to Pansy.

"Where were you?" she asked, a hint of accusation in her voice.

"Outside," he responded vaguely, reaching for the bowl of fruit salad.

She gave him a piercing look before picking up the pitcher of pumpkin juice. "Would you like some juice?" she asked with false sweetness.

At his nod, she filled up his glass, setting the pitcher down with a thump and leaning over to whisper directly into his ear. "I know something's going on, Draco. I'm not as stupid as you'd like me to be."

He sighed, before turning his head to stare at her. "It's none of your concern, Pansy." His tone said for her to drop the subject, but he knew immediately that she'd never do so.

"Nice try, Draco," she said, picking up her fork and stabbing viciously at a piece of lettuce on her plate. "I want to know what's going on; you can't leave me in the dark like this."

Draco didn't respond, simply picking up his glass and taking a drink, implying that he could, of course, do just that.

"I know it has something to do with Potter," she said slyly, her eyes finding Harry across the room.

This caused Draco to choke on his pumpkin juice. "Potter?" he questioned, setting his glass down immediately.

"Yes." Her eyes narrowed slightly. "I know there's something going on with you two."

"You do?" he asked, then shut his mouth hastily, not believing that he'd just said that.

She gave a predatory smile, which had Draco leaning away from her slightly. "Well, I sure do now." She smirked at his expression. "Honestly, Draco, did you expect me not to notice? You were staring at him through our entire Potions class today."

Draco pushed his plate forward, resting his elbows on the table and rubbing his eyes. Of course she'd notice something like that. He couldn't believe he had been so obvious.

Suddenly he felt her hand squeeze his shoulder gently. "I don't think anyone else noticed," she said softly, wanting to reassure him. "I was just paying extra close attention to you. You've been avoiding me and I wanted to know what you were up to."

He sighed, closing his eyes briefly. "I'm sorry I was avoiding you. It's just that I've got a lot going on right now that no one's supposed to know about, and you would be able to see that immediately. I can't seem to hide anything from you."

"Well, we've only known each other since birth," Pansy said dryly. "And I've known for a long time now that you've had feelings for him." She jerked her chin towards Harry.

Draco turned his head so he could look at Harry; the other boy was currently sitting between Hermione and Ron, methodically picking apart a dinner roll. He looked so tired; the circles under his eyes were visible even from across the room.

"You care about him," Pansy said, tilting her head slightly. "Although I really don't get what you see in him."

Draco smiled softly. "He's everything, Pansy," he admitted. She turned to look at him, surprise written across her face. "And he's not bad to look at either," he added with a smirk.

"All right, I'll give you that," Pansy replied with a snigger. Then she sobered. "Does he feel that way about you?"

Draco shrugged, not wanting to get into this with her at the moment. "I don't know. It's not exactly something we've discussed."

She frowned at him but he held up a hand to stop her from asking any more questions. "Let's not talk about this right now. I need to get going."

He stood up, taking one more drink of his juice, then stepped over the bench.

"Be careful, Draco," Pansy whispered, not wanting anyone else to hear.

He nodded and gave her a quick smile, then turned and headed out of the Hall. He hadn't gone very far when another set of footsteps joined his.

"You were supposed to wait five minutes," Draco chastised, but turned to face his companion with a grin anyway.

"Yeah, well, I didn't feel like it," Harry said with a shrug. They walked down the corridor quietly, stopping outside the Charms classroom.

Draco reached for the knob, but was stopped by Harry's hand on his. "Be careful tonight. Please." Harry didn't meet his eyes and Draco saw a faint blush climbing up his cheeks.

"I will," Draco said, letting go of the doorknob and pulling Harry into his arms. He leaned forward and captured Harry's lips with his own. Harry's mouth opened immediately under his; their tongues met, gliding together in perfect sync. Draco broke the kiss, drawing in a deep breath, then released him completely. He ran his hands down his shirt to try to smooth out the wrinkles and let Harry have a moment to get his composure back. Then he opened the door and the two of them walked in; Draco saw that Dumbledore, Sirius, and his mother were already inside, and the Headmaster's eyes seemed to be twinkling a bit more than usual. Draco got the feeling that the old wizard knew exactly what he and Harry had been doing on the other side of the door.

"Are we all set?" Sirius asked, and Draco nodded in assurance.

"Of course," he said, a bit of the Malfoy arrogance added to the words.

Sirius nodded. "Shall we go over the plan?" Draco nodded again then listened as the older man listed step by step what Draco was to do. Harry, he saw, was also listening intently. Once Sirius was done explaining, Dumbledore turned his attention to Harry.

"I understand you are serving detention tonight with our Potions professor." His eyes twinkled merrily behind his half-moon frames.

"Yes," Harry said sullenly. "And I didn't even do anything wrong." Draco could tell that Harry had resisted the urge to stare pointedly at him.

"Ah, well, everything has its reasons, Harry," Dumbledore said kindly.

"Oh, yeah, sure," Harry said, with a hint of sarcasm. "Even detention."

Dumbledore simply smiled, then reached into his robes to pull out his pocket watch, and turning towards Draco and Sirius stated, "Well, you two should get going."

The group of five left the room, walking down the halls with purposeful but not rushed steps, and out of the front door and onto the Hogwarts grounds. They stopped just outside the Hogwarts gates and Draco pulled on his cloak, as now that they were outside the wards of the school it was back to typical February weather and was quite cold. Sirius turned to speak for a moment with Dumbledore, giving Draco a bit of time to try to reassure Harry, who'd looked more and more worried the closer they'd gotten to the gates. Harry wrapped his arms tightly across his body and Draco sighed.

"I'll be fine, Harry," Draco said, reaching up to briefly run his fingers across Harry's cheek. "I'll see you tonight."

Harry nodded. "Tonight," he repeated faintly.

Sirius then appeared at Draco's side. "Ready?" he asked as he pulled out his wand, gesturing for Draco to do the same.

"Ready," Draco repeated. He nodded again at Harry, who'd moved to stand next to Narcissa. "Apparate," he said clearly, hearing Sirius do the same.

His feet landed upon grass and his knees buckled slightly from the impact, although he managed to keep himself upright. Next to him, Sirius had already transformed into his Animagus form. Draco tugged his cloak tighter around his body and the two of them began their trek toward the Manor grounds. As they reached the crest of the first hill, Draco felt someone tug on his trouser leg. He looked down to see Sirius, sitting on his hind legs.

"This is where you leave me I guess," Draco said softly, reaching down to pat the dog on its head. Padfoot whined in response. "Well, okay. I'll see you in a bit then." Padfoot gave a soft bark, then lumbered over to a nearby grove of trees.

Draco turned away and continued his journey, up and over hills too numerous to count. It had reached the point where he was wondering if he'd be able to make it up another one; he was practically crawling up the inclines as it was. Fingers gripping the blades of grass, he pulled himself up the rest of the hill, hoping that it would be the last one.

And it was.

For there, standing in front of him, dark and foreboding, was Malfoy Manor.