The students were just as distracted on Tuesday, and when the seventh-year class came in Harry had no idea what to expect. Malfoy arrived flanked by Flora and Michael, who sat on either side of him and immediately engaged him in conversation, as if to prevent anyone else from trying. Harry smiled at that, glad that Malfoy's new friends were sticking by him. He'd meant to ask Malfoy how that discussion had gone, but they'd not done much talking lately.
Most of the students were staring at Malfoy and whispering with their neighbors, and it took Harry a full minute to get their attention.
"We've nearly finished the NEWT curriculum now and in a few weeks we'll focus on revising for the exam. I want each of you to submit by next week a list of ten spells or topics you think are your weakest, and we'll make a study plan from there. Yes, Alexa?"
"I was wondering if we might…" The girl paused, looking slightly embarrassed, but the girls on each side of her gave her a nudge. "You've always given us a class day when we can ask you any questions we want about your fight against Voldemort. Some of us were wondering if we might do the same with Draco Malfoy."
Malfoy's head whipped around at that and Harry's jaw clenched. "I'm sure Mr. Malfoy is tired of being asked questions."
"I don't mind, actually," Malfoy said, and everyone turned to look at him again. "If it stops people from staring at me every minute of the day, I'd be happy to answer questions."
Harry looked around the room, but it was clear he had already lost them. The students were turning towards Malfoy and whispering amongst themselves excitedly. Harry shrugged and sat in an empty desk, and gestured to Malfoy. "All right, then. They're all yours."
Hands went up everywhere at once. Malfoy looked bewildered for a moment before finally pointing to a Ravenclaw boy sitting close to him.
"How did you travel through time?" the boy asked. "Was it a spell or an accident, or something else?" The room went completely silent.
Malfoy seemed to take a steadying breath. "I've no idea what happened, to be honest. I was hanging on to Potter and I slipped and fell into the flames, and the next moment I hit the floor and the fire was gone. I ran out into the corridor and everything was quiet, and so I went to the Great Hall. But there was no battle, no Dark Lord -- just students having dinner." He paused and shook his head. "I thought I'd gone mad."
"If you could go back to your time, would you?" someone asked.
"Are you insane?" Malfoy retorted. "Surely you've heard Potter's story enough to know that those years were hell. I'd obliviate myself if I could. The further I am from all of it, the better." Hands flew up again.
Malfoy spent the next hour answering questions. Students asked about everything from what he thought of the future he found himself in to details about Voldemort's lunacy and the role Malfoy's family played in the war. Harry found himself interested in Malfoy's answers, as some of them were questions he'd not asked himself.
"Do you still have a Dark Mark?" one girl asked, and Harry realized that even though he'd seen Malfoy's prick on two different occasions, he'd never seen him without a shirt.
"No, it's gone," Malfoy said quickly and moved on to the next hand up, though he tugged at his left sleeve a bit.
"Did Professor Potter know it was you all along?" a Hufflepuff boy asked, and several students laughed.
Harry expected a sarcastic comment, but to his surprise Malfoy smiled. "Of course. He came to visit me in the hospital, and was the one who encouraged me to return to Hogwarts. And he's supported me every step of the way. I was nearly two years behind in Defense when I arrived here and he's given me quite a lot of extra help."
He didn't look at Harry, but most of the students did. Harry smiled and looked down at his hands for a moment.
"Is it strange to be still 17 when everyone else you know has got older?" asked Michael.
"It was at first," Malfoy replied. "But the things I experienced during the last two years were so much more horrible than what any of you could imagine. No one knows what that was like, except for the ones who were there." He looked at Harry. "So I don't feel like I'm 17, not really."
Michael looked away at that and a few students around the room exchanged glances.
"Is it weird to have people you knew in school as your professors?" another boy asked.
Malfoy was still staring at Harry, so intensely that Harry felt himself blush. He looked down and picked at the hem of his robe.
"Weirder than you can imagine," Malfoy said. "But it's also interesting to see them all grown up."
A few students giggled and Harry smiled tightly. "Is there anything else?" A couple of hands shot up, but he ignored them. "Very well then, the subject is closed. I'll expect those lists of topics on Thursday. Class dismissed."
Malfoy's friends glared away the handful of students who tried to approach him, and finally everyone packed up and left.
"I've nothing for you to mark today," Harry said as Malfoy crossed to him. "Easter holiday and all."
"Are we still on for tomorrow night?"
Harry glanced over Malfoy's shoulder to see Michael looking uncomfortable a few feet away. "Of course. If you like, you can bring your study group."
Malfoy shrugged and gave Harry a small smile before he turned to leave.
Harry sighed as he watched him go. Two more months, and then they wouldn't have to hide any more. Harry didn't know how he was going to make it.
.:::::.
Malfoy arrived Wednesday night with the study group, to Harry's relief. They worked mostly on their own, occasionally asking Harry for help, and seemed to be seriously focused on revising. Malfoy and Michael were no longer attached at the hip, and Michael didn't seem terribly happy about it.
Malfoy didn't stick around at the end of the session and he didn't stay after class on Thursday. The students had seemed to lose interest in him after an intense couple of days, and though he still got quite a few stares in the corridors and in the Great Hall, things were starting to go back to normal far more quickly than Harry had expected.
By Friday, Harry was nearly paranoid about Malfoy's complete lack of communication with him. He'd expected a few late-night visits after lending Malfoy his cloak, but that hadn't happened. He didn't see Malfoy at breakfast on Saturday morning and then he was busy most of the day supervising the Hogsmeade trip. He had dinner with Neville and Penelope at the Hog's Head, and though he completely avoided the subject of Malfoy, both of them kept asking if he was feeling all right.
He wasn't, though he'd never admit it. He had no idea where he stood with Malfoy, and it was becoming clear that he was hoping this thing between them was far more than just a fling. It was infuriating that he couldn't freely talk to Malfoy about it, nor to anyone else. It was so horribly unfair and it would probably end badly.
He took a sleeping draught and went to bed feeling sorry for himself.
The knock on his door was so slight he almost missed it. He fumbled for his wand and pointed a lumos at the clock -- 4:00 am, really? -- before stumbling to the door. There was no one there when he opened it, and just as he was about to threaten to hex whoever was playing such a cruel joke on him, he remembered that Malfoy had the cloak. He stepped back and opened the door wider, and felt a light brush of fabric against his skin.
Once the door was closed, Malfoy pulled the cloak away and grinned at him in the dim wandlight. "Hi."
Harry yawned. "At this hour? Are you mental?"
"I told everyone I was spending the weekend in London visiting Mother," Malfoy said, folding the cloak over a chair. "I decided to come back early so I could sneak up here. I won't be missed until tonight, so…" He crossed to Harry and gazed up and down at him. "Do you always sleep like this, with no shirt?"
Harry flicked his wand at his bed and it stretched itself out to nearly twice its width, now taking up half of the small room. "We can discuss it in the morning." He climbed back in the bed and settled under the covers, still groggy despite Malfoy's arrival. Damn sleeping draught.
Malfoy stripped down to his pants and slid under the covers beside him. His hands were cold against Harry's skin, and Harry allowed him a kiss before snuggling against his shoulder.
"We have all day tomorrow. Right now, sleep. Please."
He heard Malfoy sigh next to him, and he drifted off to sleep.
.:::::.
Harry yawned and opened his eyes. Daylight filtered in through the room's small window and cast a streak across the bed, right over the bare chest of Draco Malfoy. Harry rolled onto his side and watched him sleep, taking in the rise and fall of his chest, the stubble on his chin, and the sound of shallow, rhythmic breathing. Harry's eyes drifted down to Malfoy's chest, to the scattering of blond hair between pale nipples, and then to the lines of faint silvery scars stretching across his skin.
Harry swallowed at the sight, seized by an inexplicable impulse to run his tongue down the length of each. He wondered if Malfoy would mind waking up that way.
Malfoy shifted and turned onto his side. His left arm stretched out towards Harry a bit, and then Harry saw it -- the faded lines that remained of a Dark Mark. He'd assumed Malfoy was lying about it in class; he'd spent five years chasing former Death Eaters and had seen plenty of faded Marks. But it was odd to be faced with the fact that the man he was falling for -- and honestly, he was falling for Malfoy -- had been counted amongst their numbers. Things had changed so much between them in the last few months. Malfoy seemed to be a completely different person than the one Harry remembered from all those years ago.
"Does it bother you?"
Harry looked up to see Malfoy's grey eyes on his. He shook his head. "Ancient history. Or it might as well be, these days."
Malfoy sighed. "It bothers me. Perhaps because that history isn't quite so ancient." He paused for a moment before continuing. "Will it ever go away?"
Harry shrugged. "No one knows. They seem to fade with time, but no, I don't think it'll ever go away completely."
Malfoy stared at the ceiling. "I just want that part of my life to disappear. Like it never happened, you know?"
"Jumping ten years into the future helps with that."
"But it will never completely go away. Maybe I should've changed my name. Become someone else. I could have started over."
"And stop being a Malfoy?" Harry smirked. "I can't imagine."
Malfoy smiled. "I suppose you're right. What time is it, anyway?"
"No idea," Harry replied. He stretched and sat up. "Want to take a shower?"
"Erm, okay. Do I need one?"
"I meant together, actually." Harry winked at him, and laughed when Malfoy nearly popped out of bed.
Harry led him to the bathroom and started the water. When he stepped out of his pants, Malfoy's eyes went straight to his groin.
Harry grinned. "Want to play a game?"
"A game?" Malfoy's cheeks went pink.
Harry hooked his thumbs into the waist of Malfoy's pants and tugged them down. Malfoy's breath caught as Harry dropped to his knees with them, and Harry smiled up at him. "You can't touch yourself at all, and no matter what you can't come." Malfoy's cock was already at attention and Harry gave the tip a quick kiss before standing again.
"How do you win?"
"If we play well, we both win."
The shower was small, but they managed. Harry soaped up his hands and ran them over Malfoy's chest and shoulders, enjoying the feeling of slick-wet skin. His fingers swirled the dusting of hair on Malfoy's chest and followed the trail from his navel down to his groin. Harry slid a soapy hand over his cock just once, and Malfoy closed his eyes.
"Not yet," Harry said as he pushed Malfoy under the spray. He washed his hair, earning a moan from him when Harry massaged his scalp.
Malfoy took a turn then, washing Harry's chest and arms and delighting at how ticklish Harry was. He worked quickly, not as interested in drawing out the sensation of being touched as Harry had been. Harry smiled: it was fine for now.
"How thoroughly are we washing each other?" Malfoy asked as he lathered his hands again.
"Depends on how dirty we are."
"In that case--" Malfoy's soapy hands found Harry's prick and stroked, and Harry groaned. In less than a minute he was far too close to coming and he had to push Malfoy's hand away.
"My turn," he said, turning Malfoy to face the spray. He lathered his hands and started with Malfoy's shoulders, massaging them and then working his way down to his lower back.
"That's nice," Malfoy said as Harry paused for more soap.
"It's about to get nicer." Harry trailed his fingers across Malfoy's hips and over his arse before delving between the cheeks. Malfoy jerked in surprise, but Harry kept his touch gentle, letting his fingers glide over Malfoy's arsehole before continuing underneath to his balls. He reached around with his free hand to squeeze Malfoy's prick and the fingers of the other hand worked their way back up to his arsehole again, circling lightly before pressing gently against the hole, almost breaching him with a fingertip.
Malfoy turned around then and kissed him. Harry's hands went to Malfoy's sides to keep his balance, and their cocks slid together between them.
"I don't know about you, but I'm feeling rather clean," Malfoy said. "Are you certain about this 'no coming' rule?"
"Rinse off," Harry said, grinning up at him. "It'll be more comfortable in bed."
They barely made it to the bed -- drying each other off had nearly done them in -- and now they were kissing so frantically they would both likely have stubble-burn later on. Once they were finally on the bed, Harry straddled Malfoy and looked down at him.
"You're so gorgeous," he said, tracing one nipple with the tip of his finger. "I want to devour every inch of you."
"You really like to drag this out, don't you?"
"It's called foreplay, and it's not just for women. You'll see."
"I'm young, you know. I don't need foreplay. I can come four times."
"I'll hold you to it." Harry leaned down and licked along the line of one of the scars on Malfoy's chest. "I was wondering if you would still have these scars."
Malfoy watched him trace each with his tongue, as if he were trying to heal them. "You certainly left your mark on me."
Harry paused and looked up. "I'm sorry."
"Don't be. It changed me for the better."
Harry turned his attention to Malfoy's navel. "How?"
"It-- that tickles! I think it's when I realized you were actually capable of dark magic, that you really had a chance to defeat the Dark Lord. And Snape, he… " He trailed off as Harry's mouth made its way to a hipbone.
"Go on."
"He told me afterwards that I had to protect myself first, that I couldn't rely on my father or assume the outcome of the war. And from then on, I didn't." He sounded breathless now and his cock was leaking fluid.
"You decided to trust me, did you?"
"No. But I stopped underestimating you."
"Roll over."
Malfoy hesitated, but he complied. Harry straddled him again, letting his prick slide against the crack of Malfoy's arse as he massaged his shoulders.
"Relax," he whispered as he kissed Malfoy's shoulder. "We don't have to do anything you're not comfortable doing. But trust me right now, all right? You're going to like this."
Malfoy sighed as Harry licked his way down his spine, and then jumped when Harry playfully bit his arse.
"Ticklish?"
Malfoy's "yes" was slightly muffled by the pillow he'd buried his face in.
Harry pried his arse cheeks apart with his fingers and licked his way down the crack, stopping just short of his hole.
"Knees," he said, and Malfoy tucked his knees under him so that his arse was in the air and exposed. Harry settled behind him on the bed. Malfoy's balls hung between his spread thighs, his cock reached down to the mattress, and his arse cheeks were spread, his hole right there in front of Harry's face. Harry's mouth watered at the sight
"Harry, I…"
"Trust me," Harry said, and leaned forward and licked gently across Malfoy's hole. He heard a little gasp from the pillow as he blew cool air across that taut skin and then leaned in again, this time with tiny fluttering licks around Malfoy's hole, circling but never quite touching the puckered skin at the center.
Malfoy was squirming now, but he wasn't pulling away. Harry circled the hole with the tip of his tongue and flicked it right against the center. He heard Malfoy moan into the pillow and he grinned. He'd never met anyone who didn't like this.
He kept licking, applying more pressure, and then pressed his lips around Malfoy's arsehole and drilled into him with the tip of his tongue. He worked his way in slowly with little jabs and licks, and finally felt Malfoy's arsehole relax enough to let him press his tongue inside.
Malfoy was gasping now and Harry reached around to pull at his prick with one hand while the other kept a firm grip on Malfoy's hip. He buried his tongue in Malfoy's arse as deep as it would go, stroked his prick, and hummed into his arse. Malfoy was pushing back against him now, clearly loving it. No one had touched him like this either, no one but Harry, and god Harry's balls were starting to ache just thinking about it.
Malfoy came a minute later, his arsehole spasming around Harry's tongue as he muffled his cries with the pillow. Harry wriggled his tongue as best he could, and then his hand was coated with semen and Malfoy's body lurched forward.
"Oh my god," Malfoy said, his face still pressed into the pillow. His neck was flushed and Harry wasn't sure if he was embarrassed or just recovering. "Um. Wow. I didn't know people did that." He peeked out from under the pillow and grinned at Harry.
Harry laughed and rolled onto his back. His cock was aching and if Malfoy didn't do something about it quickly, he'd pull himself off. "Do you want to take care of this, or should I?"
Malfoy crawled toward him and swallowed his cock in one movement, leaving Harry gasping. It wasn't going to take long, but it could always be better.
"Suck the head and use your hand on the shaft," he said, and Malfoy complied almost instantly. Harry propped himself up on his elbows to watch. "Use your tongue to… yeah, like that. Oh god, that's…"
Malfoy's tongue was massaging the underside of the head in circles, pressing the foreskin against the sensitive part of the head, and then he slipped his tongue underneath and wriggled it gently. Harry gasped as he felt himself hurtling toward the edge, far more quickly than he'd expected. His mouth suddenly wouldn't work and he tangled a hand in Malfoy's hair to warn him.
Coming into that wet heat was glorious, and it was the best orgasm he'd had in months. Malfoy kept working his prick, kept sucking as if he wanted to pull every bit of come from him, and didn't let go until Harry finally collapsed back onto the mattress.
"Give me a minute," Harry said when Malfoy leaned over him with a smug grin on his face. "That was bloody fantastic."
"Good. I've been doing a bit of research, you know."
"What kind of research?"
Malfoy didn't answer, though; he stretched out beside him and tugged the duvet over them both. Harry closed his eyes, suddenly sleepy again. The biology of that always amused him, as if orgasm-induced sleepiness encouraged cavemen to stay in the cave a bit longer than they might have otherwise.
"This is nice," Malfoy said and yawned.
"Mmmm."
.:::::.
"It was when we went on holiday to Greece right after third year." Malfoy paused to pop another grape in his mouth and picked three more off the bunch. "We spent three weeks on Mykonos and it was completely gorgeous. There's a wizarding village there, and Father had let a little flat right by the beach. He organized a cabana and everything."
"Forgive me if I'm having trouble imagining your family on a sunny seaside holiday." Harry picked at the remains of the impromptu picnic spread across the blanket covering the bed. When he'd sent a note telling the house-elves to send enough food for two because he was very hungry, they'd outdone themselves.
"It was the last time we did anything fun together, I can assure you. Anyway, Mother had just cast a dozen sun protection charms on me and I finally had a chance to go swimming. The sea was incredibly blue, god. Have you been?"
"I haven't." He'd barely been anywhere, sadly. He should do something about that one of these days.
"I was walking down to the water and saw a man walking out of it. He was fit, completely gorgeous, and fucking glistening in the sun. And he was wearing this tiny white swimsuit that may as well have been invisible, because it left nothing to the imagination." He paused to grin at Harry and eat another grape. "I stopped in my tracks and just stared at him. I couldn't help it. I'd never seen anyone so magnificent in my entire life. And as he got closer to me, he saw me staring, and he winked at me and said something in Greek or Italian, I've no idea which. Whatever it was it sounded amazing and I got hard."
"This story is finally getting interesting," Harry said with a grin. "Do go on."
"Right there on the beach, surrounded by people, with this bloke all wet and muscled and -- well, he looked down at the tent in my shorts and grinned and said something else, and then kept walking. And I got in the water as fast as I could."
"Was that the first time you knew?"
Malfoy nodded. "I'd heard boys talk about springing one when they saw a cute witch, but I had no idea what they were talking about until then."
Harry plucked a few grapes from the bunch and fed one to Malfoy. "Did you see him again?"
Malfoy shook his head. "But I saw others, and I finally realized that it was more than just a weird feeling. That it meant a lot more." He let Harry feed him another grape, this time capturing Harry's fingers in his mouth as well. "I thought I could forget about it when we went back to England, but of course, there was the Quidditch World Cup, and then everything started happening. Father became fanatical about the Death Eaters rising to power again. I don't know if he suspected anything, but it became very clear that being homosexual was simply not an option."
"I'm sorry."
"Don't be. I took it out on you, don't you remember?"
"I do. Fourth year completely sucked, as I recall."
"Back then I could never have imagined that I could just be myself and that it would be fine. I didn't expect to survive the war and didn't really want to, because what kind of life could I have had? But now the whole world is open." He looked at Harry and smiled. "Whatever happened in the Room of Requirement that day, I'm grateful for it."
"So am I," Harry whispered. Malfoy moved closer and kissed him, and Harry let himself be pushed back against the mattress. He'd forgotten what it felt like to see the future like that, as an open book, full of possibility. He couldn't help but envy Malfoy that, because he wasn't sure it was something he could get back. Life just didn't work that way.
And of course, it meant that their lives might not be going in the same direction at all. But he wasn't going to think about that just yet.
.:::::.
The next few weeks were some of the happiest of Harry's life. Malfoy came to his room a couple of nights a week to perfect his blow job skills, and he was getting quite good. They shared an occasional dual hand job in Harry's office after Malfoy finished marking papers, and Harry resolutely did not think about the future. For all he knew, the relationship would end when Malfoy took his NEWTs. Until then, Harry was going to enjoy the time he got as much as possible.
They were careful to keep their public relationship completely official, and with the NEWTs looming and Malfoy becoming increasingly stressed out about the amount of revising he had to do, it actually wasn't that difficult. In fact, with bit under four weeks left before the exams, it was all Harry could do to get a smile out of Malfoy when he passed him in the corridor.
And so he was caught completely by surprise one evening when he was dragged into a dark alcove by a cloaked Malfoy.
"Shhh, get under," Malfoy whispered, and Harry felt for the edge of the cloak.
"Hi," he said once he was nose-to-nose with Malfoy. "This is a--" He was cut off by a kiss and was pushed against the stone wall.
"I need to taste you," Malfoy said and dropped to his knees.
"Oh god, you…" Harry let his head fall back against the wall as Malfoy tore at his trousers. He fumbled for his wand and cast a muffliato around them, along with a charm that would warn them if anyone wandered close by, and then Malfoy's mouth was around his prick and he couldn't think about anything else.
Malfoy used just the right amount of tongue and just enough pressure, and it felt amazing. Harry pushed his trousers down as far as he could and stepped apart, and the hand on his prick moved to fondle his balls for a moment before moving back to massage the skin just behind them.
"Fuck, that's amazing," Harry whispered. There was just one more thing he wanted, something he hadn't asked for yet. He reached down for Malfoy's hand and pulled it up to his mouth, and sucked on his index finger for a moment before pushing his hand back down. "Finger my arse while you suck me," he whispered.
Malfoy stilled. "I don't want to hurt you."
Harry laughed. "Trust me, it won't hurt. Just make sure it's wet."
A moment later, Malfoy's hand reached behind him and probed between his cheeks.
"It'll be easier to go through my legs," Harry said, and Malfoy shifted on his knees. That hand was back between his thighs then and one wet finger pressed against his arsehole. "Yes, please," Harry whispered, relaxing against the sensation of being breached. Malfoy's finger twisted in and pulled out again and Harry's balls ached from the sheer pleasure of it. Malfoy's finger pressed in again, further this time, and Harry moaned.
"You really like that, don't you?"
"Deeper," Harry said, "and suck me."
His cock was enclosed in wet heat again and that glorious tongue went to work while Malfoy's finger fucked his arse. It was almost enough.
"Another finger," Harry told him, and when Malfoy hesitated he hissed, "Fucking do it, please!" The finger disappeared and after a moment there were two wet fingers pressing into his arse. Harry nearly melted against the wall. "That's so good, you've no idea. Oh, god, that's…"
He came hard and it was all he could do not to howl his release. Malfoy kept him pressed against the wall with one hand on his hip as the fingers in his arse kept moving, fucking him while that mouth worked the head of Harry's cock relentlessly.
Malfoy sat back at last, his fingers still sliding in and out of Harry's arse. He looked up at Harry with wide eyes. "I really want to fuck you."
"Yes," Harry hissed and reached down to grab him by his tie.
The fingers inside him disappeared as he hauled Malfoy to his feet and kissed him roughly. He fumbled at Malfoy's trousers and finally had to break the kiss to look down at what he was doing. Malfoy's prick sprang free at last, and Harry stroked it and looked up at him.
"I want this inside me," he whispered. "I want you to fuck me so hard I won't be able to walk straight tomorrow. I want to think about you fucking me against this wall every time I sit down. I want you to come inside me, buried in my arse." He kept stroking, not thinking about what he was doing, just wanting to touch.
"Oh, fuck… " Malfoy said and came all over Harry's hand. He closed his eyes and winced. "I'm sorry."
"Hush," Harry said, trying not to grin. He kissed him softly.
A tingling sensation swept over him and he looked over Malfoy's shoulder: the proximity charm.
"Someone's coming."
They both scrambled to redress, trying to keep the invisibility cloak covering them both as they did. A group of students appeared around the corner, and Harry realized with a start they were walking right towards where Harry and Malfoy were standing.
They edged away from the group as slowly as they could manage. The students went through a door at the back of the alcove, chattering amongst themselves. Harry and Malfoy grinned at each other and then heard more students coming.
"It's some club meeting," Harry said. "I can't remember which one. We can't stay here."
They slowly made their way into the main corridor and once out of sight of the students, Malfoy pulled the cloak away.
"I have to go meet my study group in the library anyway."
Harry gave him a smoldering look. "I meant every word I said, you know. I'm taking a raincheck."
Malfoy's eyes blazed.
"Draco, there you are." They both turned to see Michael Cox walking toward them. "Good evening, Professor," he said as he drew close. His eyes narrowed as they flicked back and forth between Harry and Malfoy.
Harry realized with a start that they both looked suspiciously ruffled. He smoothed his hair down and smiled. Thank Merlin for robes. "I'll leave you to it, then."
"I'll look for that book you recommended," Malfoy said and Harry nodded. "Thanks again, Professor!" He and Michael headed down the corridor.
That had been close, but also exciting. The invisibility cloak lay crumpled on the ground at Harry's feet. He picked it up and folded it before taking it back to his room.
.:::::.
The large brown owl found Harry Saturday morning. He'd awakened early enough to take breakfast in the Great Hall and was sitting at the faculty table listening to Neville prattle on about the Brew Club's recent batch of Hefeweissen when it landed on the table in front of him, looking stern. The note attached to its leg was rather official-looking and Harry felt a wave of trepidation.
He removed it and unrolled it, and leapt to his feet. He apologized to Neville and walked back to his room as quickly as he could, his heart pounding. Once there, he sat on his bed and unfurled the scroll once again.
Dear Mr. Potter,
Your comment is requested on the following story, which will be published in Sunday morning's edition. Please send your reaction by return owl by 8:00 this evening.
Best,
Mathilda Wrackle
Editor-in-Chief
The Daily Prophet
Harry took a deep breath before continuing.
HARRY POTTER'S FORBIDDEN HOGWARTS LOVE AFFAIR
Sources at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry report that the latest gossip sweeping the school is that Harry Potter, defeater of He Who Must Not Be Named a decade ago and currently Professor of Defense Against the Dark Arts, is romantically involved with seventh-year student Draco Malfoy.
Our readers will recall that Mr. Malfoy, presumed dead until recently, mysteriously reappeared at the school several months ago and has since been attending as a student. Mr. Malfoy, still aged seventeen though born in 1980, has been a student in Mr. Potter's class this term.
Our readers will recall that the two were considered rivals while students together at Hogwarts before the war, but have in recent months become very close, according to our sources.
"It's completely obvious," says one student who wished to remain anonymous. "The way they look at each other, they're clearly in love."
"They spend a lot of time together," says another student. "Malfoy's done an awful lot of detentions for Professor Potter, and comes back to the common room looking quite ruffled, if you know what I mean."
"Student-teacher relationships are not technically illegal when the student is of age," says Bartholomew Crabapple, the legal consultant for the Daily Prophet. "But they are considered highly inappropriate because of the power differential in the relationship. The student is under the control of the teacher and consent to the relationship is thus unclear."
There has not been a case of an inappropriate relationship at Hogwarts since the 1975, when Professor Eliza Gardener was dismissed after her scandalous affair with seventh year student Peter Griffin was exposed. The two have been happily married for 31 years and currently reside in Brighton. They have three children and two grandchildren.
It is the opinion of this publication that Mr. Potter's indiscretions with a student, even considering the extraordinary circumstances, show a flagrant disregard for common decency. Mr. Potter is a role model and a representative of the gay and lesbian community, and such an inappropriate affair with the clearly confused Mr. Malfoy does little to reassure the public that the laws passed in the aftermath of the war, ensuring equality for all witches and wizards regardless of sexual orientation, were in the best interests of our society.
When asked for a comment, Mr. Potter… [YOUR RESPONSE HERE].
Harry flopped back on the bed and groaned.
.:::::.
It was nearly 4:00 when Malfoy knocked on his office door, a full five hours after Harry had sent him an urgent owl. Harry was torn between hugging him in relief and hexing him on the spot.
Malfoy closed the door behind him and took off his wool cloak. "What is it that couldn't wait until tomorrow?"
Harry handed him the scroll from the newspaper and watched his eyebrows disappear under his fringe as he read it.
"Well, fuck," he said at last. "This is inconvenient. What are you going to tell them?"
"I'll deny it, of course."
Malfoy sat in a chair next to Harry's desk and frowned. "Why not tell them we're consenting adults and it's none of their fucking business?"
Harry gave him an incredulous look. "And why don't I just tender my resignation while I'm at it? It would be the end of my teaching career."
"Would that be such a bad thing? You're not happy here anyway."
"That's completely beside the point!"
"So it's better to lie for three more weeks and then come clean when my NEWTs are finished? Or were you planning to keep the denial going over the summer as well?"
"No, of course not." Harry slumped in his chair and sighed. "If I admit to having an affair with a male student, it will only fuel the conservatives who want to repeal the anti-discrimination laws. You know what those people are like, Draco. I can't be responsible for that."
"You won't be responsible for anything. We haven't done anything wrong. Denying it is admitting that you think it's wrong."
"We've both been sneaking around for months. I think that shows we both think it's just a bit wrong."
"We were being discreet! I never thought we were doing anything wrong. Besides, you told me the world had changed, that people like us were accepted now. And at first I didn't believe it, but I've seen the way everyone here is completely accepting."
"Hogwarts isn't the world."
"It's not just Hogwarts, you know. I spent the night at Flora's house last night and--"
Harry's eyebrows shot up. "You spent the night with Flora?"
"Oh, please, you can't possibly think--"
"No, not that," Harry said with a wave of his hand. "It's just that… she's a Muggleborn, isn't she?"
"Yes. Well, her dads are Muggles. They adopted her when she was a baby, so she has no idea what her blood status is." He paused and shook his head. "Can you imagine not having a clue about your family or even knowing whether or not your parents were wizards?"
Harry gave him a long look. "I can, actually."
Malfoy's cheeks tinted. "Right. Anyway, her dads have been together for twenty years. They have a house, and they have a daughter, and they even got married a few years ago, on the first day the Muggles made it legal. They showed me the pictures."
"What does this have to do with our little problem?"
"It has everything to do with it," Malfoy said, clearly losing patience with Harry now. "Until I met them, I didn't completely understand that I really am just like everyone else, that I could have a life like everyone else. That I deserve it just as much as a straight wizard does." He paused again. "I mean, hell, if gay Muggles get to do it, why not us? Why can't we stand up and tell them we deserve to be happy and to fuck off if they don't like it?"
Harry's brain was still trying to wrap itself around the concept of Malfoy willingly spending an evening with Muggles. "It's only three weeks, and then we can be together and it won't matter who knows."
Malfoy sighed and shook his head. "I've had enough hiding and lying to last a lifetime. I don't want to pretend there's nothing between us until an arbitrary date three weeks from now. Everyone will know that we lied about it, and what does that accomplish?"
He had a point, of course. Harry rubbed at his temples with his fingertips. "Draco… Where do you see this relationship going?"
Malfoy blinked at him for a moment. "Why do you ask?"
"You're seventeen, Draco. You have no idea what you'll be doing in a month, let alone in a few years."
Malfoy took a deep breath. "Well, as it happens, I've been thinking about that. I moved Mother out of St. Mungo's today and into a group home. She's been doing much better, you know. And I was thinking of going to Greece for a while, back to the island I was telling you about. I looked into it today and even found a little house that looked reasonable."
Harry nodded and tried to ignore the sinking feeling in his stomach. "And do what?"
"Figure it all out, basically. What I'm going to do with my life, now that I get to have one." He paused. "I was hoping you would come with me."
"Come to Greece with you?" Harry almost laughed. "I can't just run away."
"For the summer, not forever. You have until September, don't you?"
Harry stared at him for a moment before looking down at his hands. He had plans for the summer: to work on Grimmauld Place and finally get it sold, to catch up with the latest developments in Defense, and to rework the fourth year curriculum a bit. He hadn't yet thought about how Malfoy would fit into any of that. He simply hadn't let himself believe it would last.
He could blow off all of his responsibilities and go to Greece for the summer -- but then what? What would he do in September when term started and he was back at Hogwarts, while Malfoy was starting his life? Was he setting himself up for an incredible heartbreak?
He exhaled slowly. "I care about you, Draco, I really do."
"But." Draco's voice was soft and he didn't look away.
"You're asking a lot and I need to think about it. In the meantime, I don't want to completely wreck my career. We don't have to lie; we can just… refuse to comment. Like you said, it's none of their business."
"That will only make them speculate more, you know."
Harry swallowed. "Which is why we have to give them no reason to speculate."
Malfoy looked away at that. "I see."
"It doesn't mean I don't--"
"Doesn't it?" Malfoy stood and picked up his cloak. "I came here to invite you to spend the summer with me and you're breaking up with me instead."
"Oh, for fuck's sake." Harry rushed around the desk and pulled him into a kiss. Malfoy kissed him back with such intensity that it made Harry's head spin. He broke the kiss after a moment and pressed his forehead against Malfoy's cheek. "It's only three weeks. I need a bit of space to figure out what I'm going to do, and I don't want to close any doors if I don't have to." He looked up again and saw that Malfoy looked unusually sad. "Please do this for me."
Malfoy's arms tightened around him and he nodded. "I'll be busy revising anyway, I suppose. What are you going to tell the Prophet?"
"That I have no comment on the matter." He kissed Malfoy again. "Just think of the spectacular sex we can have in three weeks when we don't have to sneak around."
"It's difficult to think about anything beyond these fucking exams hanging over my head. Six NEWTs, seriously? What was I thinking?"
Harry kissed his way down Malfoy's throat as he unfastened his trousers. "Want me to help you relax a bit, then? It's probably our last chance for a while." Malfoy made a sound almost like a laugh as Harry dropped to his knees and planted a kiss on the tip of his prick.
"Only if I can return the favor."
Harry grinned. "I'm counting on it."
Malfoy buried a hand in Harry's hair and sighed.
.:::::.
Emma Grant's Fiction
Fiction, Fandom, and Naughty Stuff
