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Learning Life Over	By : Meander Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 69712 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Harry Potter, nor any of the characters from the books or movies. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
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Chapter 33- Swift in Flight

�� I don�t
want to play Quidditch,� Harry said abruptly when Draco started to pull gloves
and the Snitch out of the shed. �I just- I want the brooms, but I want to fly.
Is that all right?�

�� Of
course,� Draco said slowly, putting the equipment back. When Harry had spoken
about working tension out, Draco had thought he meant to do it through a
rousing game of Quidditch, but it seemed the tension was very real. Harry all
but snatched his Flameflare and swung aboard as if he believed that the broom
should be beaten into submission. A moment later, he was hovering, and then he
was ten feet off the ground, and then he was high enough that Draco tilted back
his head and sought for a long moment before he could find him.

�� Draco hoped
that Harry wasn�t expecting him to actually keep up as he mounted his own
broom. He could fly close to him, but only a professional Seeker could have
kept up with Harry when he wasn�t intent on chasing the Snitch, and not many of
those.

�� Draco felt
a sting in his pride as he thought that, though, and decided he might as well
compete. Can�t make Harry think he can do everything better than I can,
after all, he rationalized, and aimed his broom straight up.

�� Harry, who
circled tightly near the center of the Pitch, looked considerably startled when
Draco zoomed past him, yelling with all his might. Then fire lit his eyes, and
he charged past Draco in turn, flicking his chin in challenge.

�� Draco
grinned. This was the way that he liked Harry, alive and not moping. He did
wish that Harry could look like that over something besides flying- over
revenge, for instant. But it seemed that Harry had lost the instinct for that
while he was being a good little Auror. If Draco wanted Harry to join in while
he tormented the Dursleys, he would probably need to wait a long while, until
the last of Harry�s low self-worth bled out of his brain.

�� I�ll race
you to the tree,� Draco said, nodding over Harry�s shoulder to the huge tree in
the corner of the Pitch.

�� Harry
soared like a hummingbird towards it, not even giving Draco a second to count.
Draco sped after him, drawing near the bristles, and reached out a hand to
grasp and jostle them.

�� That made
Harry turn around and stare for a moment, before the stare melted into a stark glare.
�You are going to pay for that, Draco Malfoy,� Harry said in a dark tone
he probably didn�t realize melted Draco�s stomach. Then he slowed enough to
kick back with one leg, and come dangerously close to hitting Draco in the
groin.

�� Draco
tilted back, and Harry resumed the straight flight towards the tree. Draco
aimed his wand at the bristles and whispered a charm to enchant Harry�s
Flameflare into a will of its own. The broom tried to slow down and admire the
scenery, and Draco drew closer and closer, until he was almost overtaking
Harry.

�� By that
time, though, Harry had figured out what he�d done, and found and performed the
countercharm. And now he was bent flat over the broom, racing breakneck, the
shadow of the tree�s branches drawing closer and closer. Draco was grateful for
the wideness of the Quidditch Pitch, or this wouldn�t have been a contest at
all.

�� This time,
Draco tried to make the broom slick under Harry�s hands. It wasn�t a dangerous
spell; it would just make Harry have to shake the stickiness off, and then he
could go back to gripping. In the meantime, he could hold on with his knees,
and Draco would shoot past him.

�� Of course,
with Harry, nothing was ever simple. His hands slid off entirely, and if it
hadn�t been for his reflexes, Draco really thought he might have gone spilling
to the ground. As it was, he swung upside-down, but the tight grip of his knees
held firm, and then he was swinging over and around the broom, sprawling on his
belly, one elbow hooked around the handle so that the cloth of his robe
absorbed the oil instead of his fingers.

�� The glare
he shot Draco was hot enough to melt steel, and made Draco�s body come alive in
not entirely unwelcome ways, even at the speed they were going. Draco licked
his lips and met Harry eye to eye. They couldn�t hide from the sexual
undercurrent between them forever, and the more they put it off, the more Draco
found that he wanted it.

�� Harry
jerked his head away, face flushing, and then abruptly kicked backwards. Draco
blinked. He�d wrapped his legs around the tree�s trunk. Draco hadn�t even been
aware they were near it, so caught up was he in the shine of Harry�s eyes and
the way the wind tousled his hair.

�� Harry slid
down onto a branch and grabbed the Flameflare with his sleeve carefully wrapped
around his hand. �I win!� he declared, and fixed Draco with a smug look. �No
thanks to a cheating Slytherin.�

�� Of course
I was trying to make sure you lost,� said Draco, dropping onto the branch just
above him. �I had to do something to equalize our chances, or you would have
won otherwise.�

�� Harry
snorted, and his voice was scornful. �Did you ever think that you should let
the best flyer win?�

�� Draco
raised his eyebrows. He had to fight hard to keep from breaking into a stupid
grin, which he didn�t understand at all. Since when did Harry make him want to grin,
as opposed to help him get his life back in order and take him to bed? �What�s
the fun in that?�

�� Whatever
you say, Malfoy.� Harry picked up his Flameflare, and whispered one more countercharm
just in case. Then he surveyed Draco thoughtfully for a moment, opened his
mouth, and ended up shutting it and shaking his head.

�� What?�
Draco leaned nearer, until only a foot or so of empty space separated their
faces. �Tell me.�

�� Harry shrugged.
�It still surprises me that you�re the one I�m trading jokes like this with,�
he said, and looked away. �That�s all.�

��

�� He�s
still stuck on that? Draco found himself inexplicably irritated. Granted,
Harry hadn�t had a reason to think of him positively before this- he�d probably
thought of Draco with a mixture of indifference and disgust when he thought of
him at all- but Draco had been sure that Harry had accepted they were going to
be friends now, and more than that if Draco had his say.

�� It surprises
you that I�m so pleasant?� he asked.

�� Everything�s
surprising,� said Harry, with a lazy wave of his hand that banished some of
Draco�s annoyance. It seemed that Harry wasn�t inclined to dwell on the fact
that they�d been virtual strangers to each other until a few days ago. �That
you care for me at all. That you care for me enough to banish your mother from
the house. That you don�t find the amount of work connected with healing me to
be daunting. That I- � And then he slammed his mouth shut so hard that Draco
heard his teeth click, and shook his head again, while a dull flush rose up his
cheeks.

�� Oh. This
is interesting. Draco leaned a bit nearer and deepened his tone. �Do tell,
Harry. You know that you can tell me anything, don�t you?�

�� Right,� said
Harry, and forced a light-hearted smile. �And what I really need to tell you,
right now, is that I�d like to fly back to the other end of the Pitch. Race
you? This time, you can have a six-second head start on me, as long as you
promise not to use any charms.�

�� I�m
comfortable here,� said Draco, giving a little bounce, and then decided not to
do that again. It seemed that the branch wasn�t the sturdiest one he could have
chosen, or it wouldn�t have uttered a warning crack. �Besides, I�d like to know
what you were about to say when fell so suddenly silent and your face flushed
so brightly. You were surprised that you were attracted to men, weren�t you?�

�� That you
were attracted to me,� Harry corrected quickly.

�� But why
wouldn�t I be?� Draco cocked his head. �I�ve had lovers of both sexes, and
you�re quite attractive.�

�� Harry
coughed and swung a leg over his broom again. �I could take a flight to the
other end of the Pitch by myself. In fact, why don�t you time me? We could see
how fast the Flameflare really goes.�

�� Draco
sighed. �You�re making no sense at all, Harry. We�ve done more than snatch
kisses and glimpses of each other naked, and now you�re ready to flinch and
cringe at the slightest hint of anything sexual? Why is that? Can you at least
give me an honest answer instead of trying to fly away?�

�� Theresa
said it wasn�t the best thing for either of us to be engaging in a sexual
relationship right now, until we knew each other better and were more certain
how we felt about each other.�

�� And, of
course, you do everything Theresa says,� Draco mocked him gently.

�� Harry
tossed his head in that way he had when he was getting impatient with a
conversation. �I can�t even explain this nervousness to myself, Draco, so how
in God�s name am I supposed to explain it to you?� he snapped.

�� There.
Honesty.� Draco eased back, smiling. The branch uttered another creak, so he
stopped moving, but he let the warmth linger on his mouth, in his eyes. �That
was all I really wanted, Harry. It�s all right if you don�t know why you�re
nervous. We�ll figure it out, together.�

�� Harry just
nodded curtly. �Are you sure that you don�t want to time me as I fly across the
Pitch?�

�� Deciding
that Harry needed this temporary escape from his presence, Draco nodded and
waved his wand, conjuring a small hourglass in the air. He made sure to color
it green and silver, and to make the grains of sand that tumbled through it
small, snake-shaped, and silver. Harry gave him a disgusted look, which Draco
felt free to ignore. At least it got Harry�s mind off this late case of the
nerves.

�� Let me
adjust it,� he murmured, and then tapped the edge of the frame several times
with his wand, so that the snake-shaped grains collected in the upper bulb.
Then he nodded to Harry. �If you�ll assume your position?�

�� Ponce,�
Harry muttered, but he did as instructed, lying flat along the broom.

�� Now,�
Draco said, and tapped the hourglass again.

�� The word
wasn�t even out of his mouth before Harry zoomed off, moving so fast towards
the end of the Pitch that Draco could swear he was burning the air behind him.
He leaned forward, eyes intent on the small speeding shape, not wanting to miss
the moment when Harry would reach the end of the Pitch and turn.

�� He did it
faster than Draco would have thought anyone could fly, and his heart
beat so loudly in his ears that he barely remembered to tap the hourglass and
make it chime, as well as freezing the snake-shaped grains and starting a
stream of lion-shaped ones that flowed the other way. Draco wondered if Harry
would be more amenable to the snakes when Draco showed him the small lions.

�� Wait- had
Harry made the turn, after all? Draco shaded his eyes with the hand not holding
his wand to see.

�� A moment
later, he decided that Harry had indeed made the turn already, but he was
coming back at a slightly different angle than before, higher, so Draco�s eyes
had fooled him into thinking Harry was still flying straight the other way.

�� And a
moment after that, he realized he should have stayed put, as the branch sagged
beneath him and dropped him towards the ground.

*

�� Harry was
turning when he heard the crack, clear as the sound of a Bludger striking
flesh, echo across the Pitch. His gaze darted to the tree, and, sure enough,
Draco was falling towards the ground like a doll.

�� He dropped
his mind. There was the broom, steady beneath his hands and between his knees,
and the length of space separating him from the tree and Draco, and the wind
resistance.

�� Nothing
else.

�� He flew,
fast enough that it felt as if he shredded parts of his body, or at least his
robes, and left them behind. He angled himself lower as he came in, because
he�d seen that he would need to. He half-released one leg, so that he could
more easily lean off when the moment came.

�� And then
the moment came, and he dipped down and snagged his arm through Draco�s, using
the momentum to drop straight down himself for a moment before he rolled,
and brought them under the broom and back up the other side, so that Draco was
half-sitting on the broom and half-leaning against him, and Harry himself was
fine, too, other than the slight popping in his knee that probably indicated
something had been dislocated.

�� They
hovered about half a foot above the ground, less than that from the trunk of
the tree.

�� Draco was
staring at him with a very strange expression.

�� What?�
Harry snapped. Thought was rushing back to him now, along with pain. He rubbed
his leg and grimaced. Ouch. It was nothing compared to some injuries
he�d taken, and he�d even acquired them in the same way, acting out what had to
be done to capture a criminal and then feeling the pain, but he hadn�t
expected this pain. Part of him had accepted the proposition that he would be
safe here, unknown even to Harry.

�� That
should teach you, he chided himself. You aren�t truly safe anywhere.

�� I could
have cast the Levitation Charm and saved myself,� Draco pointed out, rubbing
his left shoulder where Harry had caught him. �There was no reason for you to
injure me and nearly kill yourself rescuing me.�

�� If you
could save yourself, why didn�t you?� Harry demanded.

�� Draco�s
face turned pink, then, which was a fascinating sight, because Harry hadn�t
seen it that often. �Dropped my wand when I fell,� he murmured, after a few
mumbles and clearings of his throat.

�� Harry
snorted. �Then let�s land and look for it. After that, I need a potion for this
knee, and then- �

�� What?�
Draco at once squirmed off him, apparently because he thought he was hurting
Harry by sitting there, even though Harry would have mentioned it if he�d been
in any massive amount of agony. �You hurt yourself, too? God, Potter,
has anyone ever told you that your need to play the hero is going to get you
killed one day?�

�� Lots of
times,� said Harry, rolling his eyes, and then hissing as Draco poked at the
knee. �Leave it alone! It�ll be fine with a potion. Besides, there�s one thing
that you need to say to me.�

�� Draco
peered at him between strands of blond hair. �What?�

�� He looked
so- well, cute was the only word coming to Harry�s mind, though he
doubted it was appropriate- that Harry was tempted to let the teasing go. But
it was so much fun to tease him that he didn�t. �Thank you for saving my life,
Harry,� he prompted, keeping his tone as patronizing as possible.

�� Draco
looked away.

�� It�s not
hard,� Harry said, and leaned nearer. He told himself the tightness in his
belly came from pain, not the heat of Draco�s body so near his own. �Nine
syllables. Seven words. You can do it. Thank you- �

�� Thank you
for saving my life, Harry.� Draco practically spat it, and then jerked his head
at the ground. �Down, Potter. And you�ll lean on my shoulder and hop to
get to the shed, believe me.�

�� Harry flew
downwards, satisfied. At least saving Draco�s life made him feel as though he
were making up, in part, for breaking his arm the other day. And it soothed the
part of him that fussed about not helping people while he was in Malfoy Manor.

�� And his
knee might serve to distract Draco from the uncomfortable line of conversation
he�d been pursuing earlier.

�� Even Harry
didn�t know why he was suddenly so nervous at the thought of sharing a bed. As
Draco had pointed out, they�d done more than that.

�� Maybe
it�s just that it feels real, now. Not something done in the heat of the
moment, or because I�m healing and that�s one step. Now that I�m actually
considering- keeping this intact beyond the end of the month, I don�t want to
mess it up.

�� So perhaps
he should start learning some more about Draco, Harry decided. That would serve
an altruistic purpose and a selfish one, the perfect combination for one
to pursue during healing.

***********

�� Ladyfirehair:
At this point, I don�t know if Linda will make a reappearance.

�� SLQ:
Draco�s so used to thinking of his feelings as obsession that love hasn�t
really entered into his considerations until now. So it will take him some time
to change his mind.

�� Katie: Yes,
Harry won�t like it when/if he finds out what Draco�s up to.

�� Gloria:
Interesting point about Draco�s possible feelings on Harry�s past, but he
considers Harry �his,� now, hence why he felt about Harry being neglected in
the same way he would feel about his mother or Blaise being neglected. Draco
only cares about people he likes being hurt that way. If he didn�t care that
much about Harry, he would, indeed, tell him to get over it. But he hasn�t done
that with Harry�s other issues, and he won�t do it with this one. On the other
hand, he knows Harry isn�t interested in revenge, so he doesn�t intend to tell
him how he�ll handle it.
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Learning Life Over