The Alternative to Loneliness

Ch. 12

Tutoring in All Subjects

"Do you mean like a siesta?" Luna asked, running her hand down Colin's chest.

Colin blushed, but nodded. "If you don't mind, that is. I can't seem to sleep in my dormitory, I always have those dreams. And I really shouldn't sleep in class, because I miss so much and my marks are falling so much that Professor McGonagall talked to me about it when I should have been in Charms. But I can always sleep well with you around. Especially...after..."

"Oh, I see. So you wish to have sex and then sleep during study time and then study during the nighttime?"

Colin's face became even warmer. She tended to be so blunt about these sorts of things. Well, about everything. "Well...erm...if that's alright with you, that is. I would still like to learn spells from you, you taught me the disillusionment spell so well and she was really impressed!"

Luna smiled down at him and kissed his chest. "Oh was she? Oh, I am very glad about that."

"Yes. She said that it was no wonder you were sorted into Ravenclaw. You're really smart, Luna, you are! And you explained things just in the right way for me to understand." He raised his hand and ran it through her long dirty-blonde hair. "You could be a great professor."

"That is very sweet of you to say, Colin, but I only wish to teach you."

"Why?"

She kissed his nose. "Because I love you. What do you need to learn next?"

She started to kiss all over his face and neck and shoulders as he thought, and he ran his hand over her skin, trying to think of a way to make taking pictures on a broom easier. "Is there a spell that helps one keep their balance?"

Her hair tickled his sides as she continued to kiss lower, moving from one side of his chest to the other, covering his torso in a zig-zag. "What do you need to keep your balance on?"

"It makes a difference?"

"Oh yes. You see it would not do to use something for if you are dizzy if you are actually drunk. And likewise, it would not do to use something if you are walking, when the spell is when you are on a thestral."

"How about being on a broomstick at night?"

"Are you tired?"

He shook his head. "No. Just very nervous of heights."

She tilted her head to the side and the root from one of her radish earrings poked his sensitive skin. "Oh. I see, that will help to know what spell and to envision it much better. How high are you flying?"

"I really don't know," Colin admitted, suddenly nervous at the thought. How high did Draco intend to go? "Oh, and I don't have my hands on the broomstick."

At that, Luna's hand took hold of him and he started. "You will not be holding your broom?" she asked. "What will you be holding?"

Colin had an image of Luna up in the air on a broomstick with him, neither of them clothed, and she was the only one with a handle on anything. Her hair was blowing in the wind as they flew. He gulped. "A--a camera," he stammered, trying to shake the image, intriguing though it was, out of his mind.

"Oh, yes. This is for your next photo shoot with Draco Malfoy." He nodded and she continued. "Well, if you will be flying very high at night but with your hand on the camera, then you will need to use a spell that will help you to keep you steady without your having to concentrate on it. Have you ever ridden a carpet?"

He jumped at the question...or maybe it was the way she had just repositioned herself that made him do so. "No. They're illegal, aren't they?"

"Yes, they are in Britain." She slid off of him and rolled onto her back in the closet. "Sit astride me."

"Wh--what? Asride you?"

"Like a broom," she said, nodding.

Colin took his trousers and his sweater and bunched them up into a pillow, then stuffed them under her head to make her more comfortable. "I don't want to hurt you," he said.

"Oh no. I will like it." She smiled up at him encouragingly, so after balling her sweater under her back, he did as instructed. "Now," she continued, when he had taken his place. "Imagine that it is the floor and you and me, and we are exactly like this. Now imagine the walls are the night sky and they are zooming past us. Do you feel dizzy?"

"No," he said, looking around and trying not to let the feeling of her underneath him distract him. "We're standing still and the ground is perfectly steady."

"Yes! Do you see? That is how it works."

He leaned his head back again and looked up at the ceiling. "So, if I do this spell, it will be just like this? Like I am sitting like this with you...as if you were the broom? And I don't need to hold on?"

"You will not need to hold on, because you will do a binding charm."

"A binding charm?"

She picked up her wand and with a flick, invisible ropes appeared and tied their pelvises together. He gave a start and tried to move. She put her hand over his. "I think you have learned them already."

He nodded. "Yes."

"And your hands are free so that you may take pictures."

He looked down at her, her light hair fanned around her head on the closet floor, her pale skin glowing slightly in the dark closet, lit by the enchanted fire nearby. He really wouldn't mind, he thought, taking a few pictures now. "Y--yes, I think I've got that imagery in my head."

She smiled up at him and released him from the binding spell. "I am glad of that," she said and squirmed underneath. "Do you need to sleep?"

~*~^~*~

Yes. He had that imagery quite well in his head. He was trying hard not to let it show, that Friday at midnight, how much the imagery was in his head, as well as other places. He had practiced the spell quite exhaustively earlier that week in the closet with Luna and it had appeared to work well, but it was hard to tell if it would work in the air.

Having borrowed a broom, he tromped down to the Quidditch pitch to meet Draco. His pack, heavy with film, bounced against his hip and the weight of the camera pulled at his neck. He didn't feel near as nervous about this shoot as any of the shoots previous, as his subject was fully aware of what was going on and he didn't need to sneak around. He still didn't much care for taking these sort of pictures, but Draco was making it very easy on him.

The blond's hair was glowing in the moonlight and Colin could see him from quite a ways away. He had on a heavy, emerald green cloak and soft, warm-looking gloves. The Slytherin's sharp features seemed to stand out more in the cold night air. When he heard the small boy approach, Draco turned and gave him a small, but not unfriendly nod. "Creevey," he said.

"Hello Draco," Colin replied.

The aristocratic older boy waved toward the air. "Where should I be? Where has the best light?"

"It all depends on how you wish to look," he answered. "If you fly over there, you'll get the softer glow. If you fly over there, it will sharpen the picture, the contrasts between the dark and the light will be more pronounced."

Colin continued to explain the different sort of look each area's lighting would provide and Draco seemed to be listening carefully. Finally, he nodded and said, "Alright, Creevey. Taking what you have said in consideration, I shall match my flying with the lighting. You just concentrate on making me look good, not that that would be in any way difficult."

Colin nodded and held out the broom beside him, where it hovered. First he straddled the broom and mounted, hugging the handle with his legs. After casting the binding charm, he brought to his mind the image Luna had given him for the balancing charm. He could feel a flush start on his face as he internalized the imagery, turning it into the power of the spell.

Draco was watching with mild interest. He had never seen the Gryffindor doing magic before, not that he'd had any reason to, but there was something a bit queer about the way he'd woven that spell. "Creevey," he said when Colin had finished his spell. "There's something different about you."

Colin looked up from where he was adjusting his camera strap. "Is there?"

Draco nodded. "I suppose, not that I have much to compare with."

"Oh." The small boy brought out a roll of film and opened the back of the camera. "What's different?"

Draco narrowed his eyes. "I don't know. Why don't you tell me?"

"Me?" Colin's eyes widened. "How would I know?"

"Nothing's...happened over the past week, has it?"

He shook his head, then shrugged. "Professor McGonagall said my marks are falling."

Draco shook his head, not even sure why he was curious. "Nothing else?"

"Well, Luna's tutoring me," the boy answered and Draco caught a very distinct flushing when he mentioned her.

"Tutoring, you say," he said lazily, leaning against his broom. "What subject?"

Colin blushed again. "Any I need help with."

The Slytherin raised his eyebrow. "So that's it, then, is it?" he said, looking closer at the boy. "You and Lovegood have stepped things up a bit."

The Gryffindor's face had now gone completely red, almost disappearing against the crimson bands in his scarf. "H--how do you know?"

Draco snorted delicately. "Are you joking? For one, you're much more relaxed. Secondly, you look surprisingly better rested. Please don't tell me you do something as boorish as fall asleep directly after."

The boy about dropped his camera and as he fiddled with buttons and dials, he mumbled, "She told me she wanted me to. So I could get some sleep, since I've been having trouble with it."

Draco just stared for a moment, not sure whether to be disgusted with Lovegood or commend her. "So are you using her as a sleeping aide, then?"

"Y--yes. And I know it's not right to fall asleep after and everything but the first time it just sort of happened and it was the first time I had slept at all really in several weeks and I couldn't help myself and I felt so much better rested and Luna said that she was glad I had because she could tell that I needed it--"

Draco held up his hand. "Alright. Well, she's certainly...original, I'll give her that."

"Well, I didn't mean to!" Colin said. "But it's so hard to keep awake after it's all through, you know."

"No, I can't say that I do," Draco mumbled, staring out into the pitch.

Colin's eyes widened. "You mean you've never..."

Draco turned toward him, suddenly short. "I will have you know, Creevey, that I am not in the habit of whoring myself out. I am only interested in one man and, in case you are not up to speed, I have yet to win him over. So until such time as I have won his heart, I am and will remain as such, untouched."

"S--sorry! I didn't mean to offend you! I just--"

Draco held up his hand to stop Colin. "That's fine," he said curtly as he mounted his broom with a billow of his smart green cloak. "Now let us get on with this before the sun comes up and spoils the lighting."

~*~^~*~

It was absolutely unfathomable that Colin Creevey should be getting some, Draco scowled, and he was getting nothing. It had irked him all throughout the photo shoot. He had tried not to let it show, but it had. It was terribly unfair. Creevey had the build of a wand and the face of a common garden rat.

Well, perhaps that was a bit too much. He wasn't bad, in a sort of mudblooded, midgety sort of way. Draco shook his head. The photo shoot on the broomstick had been yesterday and he was waiting for Creevey's signal that Harry had gotten the package. Draco suspected that in matters of romance, as in matters of finance, the secret was timing. So, he had decided, once Harry received the photos and got all hot and bothered about them, he would strike. While the iron was hot and all that. It was brilliant.

The only problem being that Creevey had as of now been unable to deliver said package. Draco sighed in impatience. What was taking the blasted Gryff so long? He had a brilliant and romantic plan to sweep Harry off his feet and he wasn't sure how much longer he could wait. Creevey had better have a reasonable explanation for this.

Although, truth be told, Draco was horrified to find that he was growing fond of the undersized lion. The things about him that used to be irritating were now cause for an amused headshake. Draco had even found himself nodding at his bloody girlfriend, that crazy Ravenclaw, in the hall this morning. It was unbefitting of a Malfoy of his status.

But the more he thought about it, the more he realized that loving Harry was about the epitome of what was unbecoming of a Malfoy, yet he was pursuing that with great fervor. It gave him pause about the validity of the drums of tradition and arrogance that had been beating in his ears since the day he was born. Well, it seemed it was rather silly to feel so much more entitled than everyone else. After all, what had it got him? A big fat nothing. He may be filthy rich, but Creevey was getting laid and he was not. One had to have priorities. Yes, he thought. Perhaps Harry was right about him being an arrogant little shit. He'd have to work on that in the future.

He grinned. Take that, Father.

~*~^~*~

Harry was lounging in the common room, procrastinating on his Potions essay, when Colin Creevey approached him looking slightly nervous.

"Can I have a word?" Colin asked squeakily. Harry nodded and followed Colin into a small side room, much like the one Harry had recently dragged Colin into. Harry shut the door and turned to face Colin.

"I have your next package," Colin whispered looking over his shoulder, then turning back to Harry. "Were the last ones alright?"

Harry flushed to the roots of his dark hair. "Yeah, they were...er...fine, Colin. Just...er...just fine."

Colin seemed to brighten. "Oh good! I was rather hoping they would be! It was really difficult getting the right lighting, since I couldn't use lights or anything and it was so dark, but the moon was there and I was able to use the slow-shutter speed. But I was really worried, you know, because Draco seems like such a light sleeper, I thought he was going to wake up and catch me the entire time I was--"

"Thanks Colin," Harry interrupted, flushing darker, if that was possible. "I should probably go. You know how people talk when we meet like this."

Colin nodded, looking serious. "Yes, I know. I've got to go anyways. I...er, have to meet Luna."

Colin scurried away, leaving Harry flushing, an uncomfortable heat in his stomach. It was just embarrassment, he told himself sternly. It had absolutely nothing to do with the anticipation--no, dread--that he was feeling about opening this next parcel. Checking that Colin had shut the door behind him, Harry eagerly ripped open the paper.

~*~^~*~

Colin dashed up to his room as quickly as his short legs would carry him. He skidded through the door and ran for his desk.

Draco-

I've just delivered the package to Harry. He's opening them in a side room off the common room. The password is Nargles.

CC

He quickly tied the letter to the leg of the school owl he had brought up here for this express purpose. As it soared out the window, he let out a sigh. His part in the plan was completed. Now to find Luna for some studying and a long nap.

~*~^~*~

Harry exited the small side room feeling hot, bothered, flushed, and mussed. The pictures had been, well, inspiring to say the least. Draco--Malfoy! Malfoy!--looked amazing in the moonlight. And he was an incredibly talented flyer. He was all precision and sudden bursts of energy. It was very unlike Harry's random, lazy sort of motions in the air. Unbidden, a conversation he had overheard between Lavender and Parvati floated into his head. Lavender had gigglingly read Parvati an article from Teen Witch Weekly about how it was possible to tell how a boy was in bed by the way he played Quidditch. Harry's stomach gave a pleasant lurch and a shudder wracked his body.

He hurried over to Ron and Hermione, trying to ignore the beginnings of an, um, inconvenience that was growing below his belt line.

"Oi mate," Ron said as he slumped into a chair. "You look a bit funny. Where've you been?"

Harry opened his mouth to make an excuse of some sort, but at that moment, the portrait hole swung open and Draco Malfoy stepped through.

There was silence throughout the room.

Malfoy appeared to be struggling, and failing, to not look unamused. "So sorry to interrupt," he said in a dignified voice. "But I'm looking for Harry Potter. Perchance you've heard of him?"

No one replied.

"No?" Malfoy smiled a bit. "Ah well. It seems I've found him without your help."

He strode forward and stopped in front of Harry, Ron, and Hermione. "Hello Harry," he smiled. "Are you well tonight?"

Harry appeared to be frozen with his mouth open. Ron was an interesting shade of puce. Hermione looked inwardly amused and outwardly calm.

"I rather thought," Draco continued as if Harry had jumped up and been extremely pleased to see him. "That since we've never been on a proper date, I might be allowed to take you out this evening."

The silence was now deafening.

Ron broke it by calling Draco something incredibly rude and informing him that he should leave if he valued his life. Draco looked indignant. "I don't believe I was addressing you, Weasley," he said shortly. "I was talking to Harry, and so Harry is the only one who can tell me to leave."

Harry turned beet red. Draco turned beseeching eyes to him. "You won't, will you Harry?"

"How...how did you get the password?" Harry choked out eventually.

Draco looked rather pleased with himself. "Oh, I asked a friend for it. Well, he's more of an acquaintance, I suppose. Not a bad chap, for a Gryffindor. No offense meant, of course."

"No offense," Ron sneered. "Look at the Slytherin git now. Come to beg for Harry's company, have you? Used to be you couldn't stand us. Just last month, you got me detention."

"I did nothing of the sort," Draco said indignantly. "You were the one who decided it was a brilliant idea to try and curse me, and in Snape's class of all places. And I didn't see you stick up for Harry when he got blamed for it. That, alas, fell to me to remedy."

Harry gaped at him rather stupidly. "You were the one who got me out of detention?"

Draco nodded. "I couldn't help that he punished you anyway. I did my best. Now, what do you say about the date?"

Harry opened his mouth, then shut it again. He seemed to be fighting some sort of internal battle. Finally he said quietly, "As long as we don't go to Madam Puddifoot's."

Draco looked disgusted. "That wretched hole of a shop? Never! I'll pick you up outside the portrait at eight."

He put out his hand and Harry hesitantly took it, expecting Draco to shake it. Instead, his face burned crimson as Draco gave a small bow over it, brushing his silk-soft lips over Harry's knuckles.

"Eight then," he whispered with a smile. "Wear that new coat I gave you."

And then he was gone almost as immediately as he had come, leaving a ringing silence in his wake.