For 16 Galleons

Chapter Twenty-Two

Harry grinned at the canopy when he woke up. He'd been dreaming of nothing but Draco's kisses since the night of the Yule ball. Draco's mouth was so sweet, and his hair was so soft. Harry stretched and squirmed as he brushed against the covers. He'd have to take another long shower this morning. Draco seemed to be doing a lot of that lately too. He grinned to himself again.

They had got a letter from Master Malfoy two days after the Yule ball ordering them to apologize, publicly, to the girls. Master Malfoy had gone on to spell out for them exactly how they had both shirked their duty and caused him embarrassment. It wasn't a howler, but the tone got the point across. The ending note softened the blow. It said Mistress Malfoy would be having tea with Mistress Parkinson to discuss dancing lessons for the girls. Draco's mother was downright miffed that the girl chosen for her son to marry had not been taught something so important to society. Draco had dutifully purchased good chocolates and presented them to Pansy after dinner a few nights later. Both boys apologized in front of their classmates for mistreating their dates.

A little while later, as Harry was getting ready to open the door for his master so they could head down to breakfast, Draco swooped in front of him and wrapped his arms around Harry's neck.

"Meet me in front of that weird urn on the front lawn before the second task?"

"Of course, Master Draco."

Draco kissed him softly, then opened his mouth and invited Harry's tongue out to play. Harry wrapped his arms around Draco's waist and pressed him back into the door. They stood there for several minutes, just letting their tongues explore back and forth making Harry feel weak in the knees and wound like a spring at the same time. This was a new trick of Draco's and Harry quite liked it. He moaned and finally pulled away to avoid embarrassing himself.

Draco smiled downright evilly at him before pushing away from the door. They both composed themselves before joining the rest of the world. Although it was common practice for masters to experiment with their slaves, to the point of being expected, it wasn't really something done in public. Besides, Harry had a feeling this was more than just experimentation. That wouldn't go over well at all considering the Malfoys' social and political position. In any event, he and Draco kept up a proper public appearance.

At around nine o'clock, Harry headed out to the front lawn and waited for Draco by what they referred to as 'the weird urn'. It was the oddest piece of statuary either of them had ever seen. They were pretty sure it was supposed to be an urn but, beyond that, the strange protrusions and forms had them stumped.

Draco arrived just a bit late, as usual, and they headed out to the lake, joining up with their usual crowd half-way there. They all chatted excitedly as they sat down to see what this task was going to entail.

The champions were led to the edge of the lake and spread out ten feet apart. Fleur and Cedric were in robes, but Viktor was wearing swim trunks. Harry thought the boy must be crazy to wear so little in late February but then remembered that Krum could be using a warming spell. One of the officials announced that the champions had one hour to recover what was taken from them and gave a short count down. The three champions walked into the water. They each did some charms; Fleur and Cedric using Bubblehead, Viktor doing a partial transformation turning his upper body into that of a shark, and they were gone below the surface of the lake.

The boys sat there for several minutes before Draco turned to Harry. "Did he say an hour?"

"Yes, Master Draco."

"So we are just supposed to sit here and stare at the lake all that time?"

Harry shrugged.

"I'm not sitting here for a bloody hour watching the ripples. Come on, Harry. There are more interesting things to do."

Harry saw the look of mischief in his master's eyes and grinned in return. They left their friends and headed back to the dorm.

When they got to their room Draco led them over to his bed and Harry laughed. "What?" Draco asked, feigning innocence.

Harry laughed again. "I knew this was what you wanted to do."

Draco arched a brow. "Don't you think it's more interesting than watching ripples on the surface of the lake?"

"Definitely," Harry answered as he kissed Draco's nose.

Draco gave an indignant huff and flipped them over onto the bed. This was new, too. They'd only kissed standing up or sitting on the couch. This seemed a lot more intimate. It excited Harry but also made him nervous. He didn't think his master would ask him to do anything he was uncomfortable with but the chance was always there. Honestly he didn't think Draco was ready for much more, either. They still giggled when they stole a kiss somewhere outside their room.

Harry reflected that Draco didn't feel all that heavy lying on top of him. In fact, it felt pretty good. When Draco lowered his head and pressed their lips together, Harry pretty much ceased to think of anything other than the wonderful feeling coursing through him. Draco was propped up on his elbows, which were on either side of Harry's shoulders, with his hands tangled in Harry's hair. Harry had his arms wrapped around his master's waist and back and held them close together. His glasses were sliding up his forehead but he really didn't care. Draco's mouth was soft and warm, and all he wanted was to feel it against his own.

Then he felt his master press against him and realized Draco was in the same condition himself. It embarrassed him at first. He tried to crawl away but Draco just grumbled into his mouth and pressed him down into the bed. Once he finally relaxed he wondered at just how good it felt. There were little sparks and shock waves originating where they touched and hesitantly rubbed against each other. It made him even lighter headed than Draco's kisses. Draco melted into him when Harry held him tighter.

Harry could hardly catch his breath. "This feels good," he said as Draco kissed his neck.

"Very good," Draco replied as he shifted a bit. Harry found it hard to breathe.

"Should we really be doing this?"

"No, but I want to." Draco paused in his kissing. "You want to, too, don't you?" Draco asked, sounding uncertain.

Harry thought for a minute. "This is good. I like this a lot. I'm just..."

Draco propped himself up further so he could look at Harry. "I don't want you to do anything you don't want to."

Harry looked up at Draco, "I want to do everything with you, just not yet."

Draco smiled. "That's all right then."

Harry grinned, then smirked. Before Draco could figure out what he was up to, Harry flipped them over so that Draco was pinned and began kissing his master's neck and face. He was very pleased with the results. Draco had the cutest squeak but his moan was even better.

Harry had no idea how long they lay there kissing before they heard some other students in the hall outside their door. The two boys got up, straightened their robes and the bed, and tried to catch their breath. They looked at each other and grinned senselessly. Harry hoped they could get themselves together or everyone was going to know they had been making out. He paused in his thoughts. They had been making out... He knew he must look like a complete moron at the moment because he knew his grin had got bigger.

************

Owls continued to arrive from Malfoy Manor over the next couple of months. Both boys were pleased that Mrs. Carter seemed to be improving steadily.

Professor Lupin required Harry to give him an update weekly on how his scar was feeling. So far there were no problems. For the first time in ages it just felt like the rest of his skin. Harry hadn't even known before that it felt different. It was one of those 'you don't miss it 'till it's gone' things, he guessed.

The end of the school year brought with it the third task. The Quidditch pitch had been transformed into a hedge maze for the champions to battle their way through. The odds on favourite was Krum.

Harry sat with his master and their friends where they had a good view of the field. They couldn't see much other than the hedges. They enjoyed some treats and tried to guess what was going on inside the maze from the occasional shower of sparks, sound of explosion and burst of flames they could see over the top. Finally it was announced by the judges that Viktor Krum had taken the cup. It was a relaxing afternoon away from classes if nothing else.

The leaving feast was a celebration. Speeches were made, goodbyes were said to the other schools' champions. No one slept that night.

To be continued.