Adult-FanFiction.org : Harry Potter

Survival of the fittest	By : Sasunarufan13 Category: Harry Potter > Slash - Male/Male > Harry/Draco Views: 18502 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 9
Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter nor profit from it. Everything belongs to J.K. Rowling

Chapter List
- 5
- 6
- 7
Author's note: Here I am finally with the sixth chapter. I thank you all for your patience and for the lovely reviews you have left behind :) This chapter turned out longer than I had expected, but I don't think you'll mind too much LOL

Thanks to the following reviewers: unneeded (haven't found a beta yet, because for some reason, they always tend to disappear after a few chapters.); blue_eyed_girl (glad to hear you're enjoying the story); Seiren and Silverstargirl

Warnings: drama, lemon, a bit of violence, bit fluff; danger of a chapter edited by myself. Eh, I think that's about it for this one.

Additional disclaimer: I don't own the Wiggenweld Potion. I found that one on HPwikipedia.

I hope you'll enjoy this chapter :)

Chapter 6: Welcome to Hogwarts

5th of September

"First years, welcome to Hogwarts. The rest of you: welcome back," McGonagall greeted them once the Sorting Hat was done sorting the new students. She was seated right in the middle of the Head table, signifying her new position as Headmistress. "I'd like to remind all of you that the Forbidden Forest remains forbidden for students. Our caretaker also made a new list of prohibited products; the list can be found on the announcement board in your dormitories," she continued. "I have an announcement to make. Starting this year Professor Black will take over the Transfiguration position and Professor Lupin will remain in charge for the position of Defence against the Dark Arts."

Almost everybody started to clap, though some of them – including Ron – settled on glaring only. Remus just smiled gently and Sirius stood up to bow with a big grin on his face.

Once everybody had settled down again, McGonagall smiled and closed off her little speech. "I wish you all good luck in this new school year. Enjoy your meal!"

As soon as those words had left her mouth, the plates on the large tables were filled with various steaming dishes that made the students mouth water.

Immediately the Great Hall was filled with chatter and the sound of cutlery hitting plates.

"So I take it that the ritual didn't succeed?" Daphne asked lightly.

Harry shook his head with a slight grimace. "No, it didn't. Thanks to Ron and Parkinson."

They briefly glanced at the Gryffindor table where Ron was talking animatedly to Seamus and a couple of sixth years; Parkinson was sulking, glaring at her food.

"Well, those two have never been the brightest," Blaise remarked dryly.

"Well, you're better off here, anyway, Potter," Daphne winked and then got roped into a discussion about the right fabric for dress robes by her friends.

"Let's hope we don't have too many classes with Gryffindor," Millicent murmured. "I have a feeling some of them won't understand the war is over."

Harry agreed silently. Right when he wanted to pick up his goblet with pumpkin juice, a small scrap of folded up parchment appeared in front of his plate.

"Harry?" Draco asked curiously and eyed the scrap of paper warily.

Apprehensively, Harry opened the paper and was greeted by the familiar spidery handwriting of Snape.

'Potter

Before you follow your fellow schoolmates to the dormitory, wait at the entrance of the common room. Some changes have been made which concern you in particular.

S. Snape'

"Changes?" Harry muttered bewildered.

"I wonder what those changes entail," Draco mused softly.

"Me too," Harry frowned and crumpled up the paper, stuffing it in his pocket. He would throw it out later.

After dinner had ended, all the students made their way to their common rooms, their stomachs filled with a delicious dinner.

Harry and Draco were joined by their pets while they were waiting for Snape to arrive.

Ten minutes later, the soft rustle of a robe gliding over stone let them know the Potions Master was on his way.

"Potter, Draco," Snape greeted them curtly. "You and your pets need to follow me."

Harry and Draco shared a confused look, but obediently followed the man. Ruby and Garin were walking next to Harry, Sapphire held in his arms while Mara and Rowen walked next to Draco.

The boys grew more confused when they realized Snape was leading them to his own office. Well, not exactly. They walked past his office and halted two doors further.

A painting of a grey scaled dragon was watching them warily with his cold black eyes. His tail, with spikes embedded on it, scraped along the large rock that served as part of the background. The rest of the painting was filled with a patch of grass and a small river.

"Dragon scale," Snape murmured and the dragon snorted, smoke escaping his nostrils, but the painting swung open, revealing the round entrance.

Snape ushered them inside and the painting fell shut behind them.

They were standing in what appeared to be a living room. The fireplace was built right across from the entrance and a painting of a grass field with flowers softly swaying in the breeze hung above it.

A midnight blue couch with two matching arm chairs were placed a few feet away from the fireplace; a small wooden table stood in front of the couch. The stone floor was covered for the most part with a black carpet that looked soft to the touch and had a unicorn, sewed with golden thread, walking on it.

There were two other doors, save for the entrance; one on each side of the room and both were open, showing the inside of the two other rooms. One was a bathroom with the classic black-white tiles. It contained the toilet, sink and a deep bath tub. Towels were already hanging on the towel rack next to the sink.

The other room was the bedroom, containing an oak desk with a padded chair; a poster bed the same size as the ones in the dormitories; a nightstand with one drawer and a candlestick on it and a wardrobe.

Harry's trunk was placed right next to his desk.

"Sir?" Harry questioned confused.

The rooms were very nice and comfortable, but he didn't understand why his trunk was here instead of the dormitory and why he had been led here.

"This will be your new quarters," Snape replied. "With the new threat, it was decided that you should have quarters near a professor, in case something happened."

"My own quarters?" Harry repeated baffled.

"Yes, for your safety." Snape nodded towards the painting. "Salazar will check up on you and he'll arrive if you call for his help."

"Are private quarters really needed?" Harry questioned doubtfully. "When Voldemort was after me, I slept in the dormitory without problems."

Draco gripped his hand and squeezed it.

The Potions professor grimaced at the mention of the name, but didn't respond to it otherwise. "Unlike the Dark Lord, Dumbledore had a connection with Hogwarts and knows everything about it, including weak spots. Hogwarts has its defence shield strengthened against him, but we don't want to take risks."

"Will everybody know about Harry's new quarters?" Draco asked and he seemed tense.

"Of course not." Snape's dry tone clearly implied how stupid he considered that question to be. "Only the ones that Potter will confide the password in, will be able to locate this room. So be careful to whom you confide in."

Harry nodded, resisting the urge to scowl at the implication that he wouldn't be careful with his words when talking to others.

Snape glanced at the clock hanging next to the door of the bedroom. The arms on the clock showed nine thirty.

"I suggest you go to sleep now, because tomorrow you'll have an early morning." He turned around and walked back to the entrance. "Draco, I'll lead you back to the common room; I need to welcome the first years."

Draco rolled his eyes, but complied. "Alright. I'll see you tomorrow." He bent his head and he and Harry shared a brief, but sweet kiss.

After wishing a good night, the portrait fell shut behind Snape and Draco.

"Guess I'll go to sleep then," Harry muttered.

Ruby curled up in front of the fireplace; the flames extinguished because it was night.

When Harry entered the bedroom after brushing his teeth, Sapphire was already curled up in a fuzzy ball in the middle of the bed while Garin had wound his long body around one of the bed posts.

Quickly, Harry changed into his pyjamas and climbed in the bed; his body sinking down into the soft matrass. A flick of his wand and the lights were extinguished, leaving the quarters dark, except for the faint glow of the dying embers in the fireplace.

The silence, broken only by his and his pets' breathing, was a bit unnerving. He hadn't realized until now how accustomed he had been to hearing other people sleep near him.

To hear nobody else except for his pets was a bit unsettling, but he would get used to it.

Carefully, as to not accidentally kick his cat, he turned on his right side and closed his eyes.

He still found it ridiculous that he had been given his own private quarters, but complaining wouldn't do anything. Best to just deal with it then.

6th of September

When Harry woke up the next morning, it took him a moment to remember where exactly he was and why. For the first time in all his school years, he woke up to a quiet room; no grumbling of others about the early hour, no sound of the shower running or his roommates talking.

A wave of his wand and a muttered "Tempus" spell told him it was almost half past seven and with a sigh, he pushed back the sheets – electing a sleepy meow from Sapphire, who awoke and yawned – and stepped out of bed. Shivering from the chill that clung to the dungeons, he shuffled to the bathroom, grabbing his school clothes on his way.

After having cast a water protection spell on his necklace to protect it, he took a quick shower which woke him up almost completely.

After dressing, he grabbed his bag and called Dobby.

"Was can Dobby do for Master Harry Potter?" Dobby asked eagerly; the stack of knitted hats on top of his head seemed to have grown again, making the stack sway from one side to the other when the house elf just twitched his large, floppy ears.

"Can you make sure my cat receives her food and can go to her litter box?"

"Like last year, Master Harry Potter?"

Harry smiled. "Exactly."

"Dobby will makes sure Master Harry Potter's cat be given food and cans go to litter box," Dobby smiled and tapped his heels against each other.

"Thank you, Dobby."

The house elf disappeared after one last bow and Ruby came to stand next to him, Garin already curled around his neck.

"We are ready to go, Master," Ruby told him calmly.

"Okay, let's go." After checking to make sure Ruby – and in extension Garin – had turned invisible (he didn't want to attract even more attention of the students), he made his way out of the dungeon to the Great Hall.

When he arrived, most of the students were already eating their breakfast, while chatting quietly with their friends and checking their timetables.

He spotted white blond hair in the middle of the Slytherin table and he approached his boyfriend, who looked up and smiled when he heard the footsteps.

"Good morning," Draco murmured and accepted the kiss Harry gave him when he sat down.

"Morning," he mumbled and reached for the coffee. "Did your pets follow?"

Draco rolled his eyes. "Mara is sitting behind me. Rowen decided that his wings would make too much noise and stayed behind." He snorted. "Which is good, because I don't fancy being followed around by two large animals."

"Here is your timetable, Harry." Daphne handed him a folded parchment.

Harry accepted the timetable, noticing how pale the girl looked. He hadn't noticed her pale pallor last night, but she had probably put up a mask then. She had lost her sister in the fight, but aside from her newly acquired paleness, one would never guess she was mourning. He wanted to offer his condolences, but her drawn mouth and harsh eyes made it clear she wouldn't appreciate the sentiment.

"Thanks." He studied his schedule, while taking a bite of his buttered toast.

Aside from starting with Potions first thing in the morning, it wasn't too bad he supposed. He had dropped History which gave him two empty hours after lunch on Thursday. From Wednesday till Friday, he had two hours each afternoon of Advanced Defence against the Dark Arts which luckily was still taught by Remus. On Monday and Tuesday he had two hours of Advanced Transfiguration in the afternoon (he briefly wondered how the lesson would differ with Sirius teaching them now).

The three hours of Care of Magical Creatures was split into two hours in the morning on Wednesday and the last hour on Friday. Herbology was put in the morning on Friday. Astronomy was scheduled on Thursday night.

This year he would also follow two hours of a class called simply Curses, which was an introduction to dark curses and their counter spells. That class was split in one hour before lunch on Monday and Tuesday.

The few free hours were placed towards the end of each day, except for Thursday when he had no morning classes.

All in all, he had a fairly good schedule.

When he compared his timetable with Draco's, the only difference was that like last year, Care of Magical Creatures was replaced by Healing.

"You dropped History too?"

Draco nodded. "Why prolong my suffering?" he shrugged and Harry laughed.

"So, how was the first night on your own?"

"It was weird," Harry admitted and reached out to take another toast. "I'm used to sleeping with other guys around me and now it was only my pets sleeping near me. It was quieter as well," he chuckled.

"I guess it's better than hearing Blaise snoring," Draco smirked and sipped from his camomile tea.

"I do not snore!" Blaise said indignantly, having heard Draco's comment when he arrived at the table. The glare he threw the blond had lost its effect thanks to the huge yawn he barely managed to cover.

"Classy," Draco commented dryly.

"Fuck off," Blaise groaned tiredly. He turned his attention to an amused Harry. "Where on earth were you last night? I thought you and Draco had sneaked off, but Draco returned alone."

"I was in Hogwarts," Harry retorted and filled his empty cup with coffee; the two sugar cubes were dissolved by the hot liquid.

Blaise rolled his eyes. "Obviously," he said exasperatedly. "But where?"

"So concerned about my well-being?" Harry murmured and sighed. "I'll tell you later."

Blaise furrowed his eyebrows, but didn't push for more information and focused his attention on his breakfast.

"You're not confined to your room?" Draco mumbled, glancing at him. "I mean, you still can visit the common room, right?"

"I suppose so. Snape didn't say anything about me not being allowed in the common room," Harry replied.

"Good," the blond nodded and then his grey eyes gained a mischievous glint.

"What?" Harry asked warily, already having been taught that that look didn't bode well.

Draco leant towards him, one hand firmly gripping his thigh, and whispered in his ear, "Of course having your own private room has its benefits as well. For example, we don't have to rely on the Room of Requirements anymore if we want some … alone time." The hand squeezed his thigh.

"Of course that's what you think of," Harry replied with a snort, but he felt flustered and he knew he was blushing.

A kiss was placed on his ear and he didn't need to look to know his boyfriend was smirking.

"As if you hadn't thought of it," Draco whispered amused and retreated before Harry could retort.

Harry just rolled his eyes, but he could feel himself grow warmer at the thought that he and Draco wouldn't need to hold back and hide anymore. At least there was a benefit to having a private room forced on him.

As it turned out, it would be a while before the two boys could reap the benefits of a private room.

Their first lesson of Advanced Potions greeted them not with a review of the past years, but with a new, complex potion that would take a month and a half to brew – provided they wouldn't make a mistake.

The seventh year's Advanced Potions class was small. There were only three Gryffindors: Hermione, Dean and Parvati (to Harry's relief, Ron hadn't passed the exam); two Hufflepuff guys; six Ravenclaws: four boys and two girls and Slytherin counted four boys: Harry, Draco, Blaise and a quiet, light brown haired guy named Lysander, and three girls: Millicent, a dark blonde haired one named Kelly and a shy, pale, brown haired girl with a nose full with freckles named Marylyne.

"You all have managed to reach Advanced Potions," Snape's dark gaze slid from one student to another and some flinched, making him curl his lip. "Therefore I assume you know how to read recipes and brew potions without any problems, no matter how complex the brewing process is. If you suspect you may not be able to handle brewing the delicate potions of this year, then remove yourself immediately from this class. I have no intention of coddling you if you screw up," he sneered.

When nobody left, he continued, "The potion you will brew first will take a month and a half. You will work on it in pairs. That means if one of the two messes up, both of you will be deducted points."

One of the Hufflepuff guys groaned softly in dismay and Snape shot him a withering glare that made the boy pale in fear.

"The potion you will brew first is called the Wiggenweld Potion. Can someone tell me what the potion does?"

Three hands rose up in the air; they belonged to Hermione, Draco and a Ravenclaw girl named Selina.

"Yes, Mister Malfoy?" Snape raised an eyebrow.

"The Wiggenweld Potion is a healing potion created to wake someone up from a magically induced sleep, sir," Draco replied calmly.

"Has it another function?"

"Yes, it can also cure minor damage caused by mind controlling spells."

Snape's attention suddenly switched to Harry. "Give me a potion or a spell that induces sleep."

Harry hadn't expected to be called on to answer and he rapidly ran through the mental list of potions he had studied up until now. It had to be a potion they had already discussed because Snape knew him well enough to realize Harry wouldn't have done extra work for Potions when it wasn't necessary.

A potion that induced sleep … He could come up with two spells, but he knew Snape was expecting the name of a potion. He was testing Harry and the seventeen year old found himself not wanting to disappoint the older man.

Come on, he had to know at least one potion …

Ah, but of course!

"The Draught of Living Death is a potion that induces sleep when a person drinks it, sir," Harry replied and bit his lip when the dark eyes drilled into his own. Had he given the wrong answer?

Then Snape nodded. "Excellent, thirty points to Slytherin."

Harry breathed out in relief.

Snape pointed his wand at the blackboard and the ingredients started to appear on it.

"These are the ingredients that are needed. Pay attention to the amount next to each ingredient." A smirk crossed his face. "A botched up potion will not only be bad for your marks."

With that sinister threat hanging in the air, Snape sat down behind his desk and grabbed one of the file stacked on the desk. "You may begin," he murmured.

The first five minutes after Snape's permission were spent in silence, save for the scratching sound that the quills made on the parchment.

"Which ingredients do we need first?" Harry asked softly.

They had fallen into their roles as potion partners of last year: while Draco set up the cauldron and did the necessary preparations (he was picky about the set up), Harry would get the ingredients and help with dicing, crushing, slicing or chopping them.

Draco glanced at the instructions. "Get the Salamander blood, Flobberworm mucus, Lionfish spines, Honeywater, Moondew drops and the Horklumpjuice first," he murmured. "The rest is only needed in two weeks."

Harry nodded and made his way to the inventory. Dean smiled fleetingly at him in passing and he nodded back.

Looking around the inventory room, which was filled with cabinets and various jars containing samples of plants and parts of animals, he tried to figure out where he could find everything.

The Flobberworm mucus was located to his left and two shelves above it, he found a small vial labelled 'Horklumpjuice'. The Honeywater and Moondew drops were put next to each other two cabinets further.

"Can't find the rest?" Blaise murmured.

"No, I still need the Lionfish spines and the Salamander blood," Harry replied and pressed his arm tighter against his chest to avoid having the vials slip and crash on the floor. Snape wouldn't appreciate the loss of ingredients.

"They are over there," Blaise jerked his head to his right. "On the top shelf, right in the middle."

"Thanks," Harry smiled and crossed the room, standing on his tiptoes to reach the top shelf. Right when he had grabbed the vial made of thick glass and a handful of the Lionfish spines, a body knocked into him hard, making him stumble and the vial containing the Salamander blood slipped out of his hands and fell on the ground, a loud "tink!" announcing its meeting with the floor. Thankfully the glass was thick enough to not break when it made contact with the floor and Harry bent down quickly to grab it.

"Oops, sorry," the Hufflepuff guy, who had groaned in dismay earlier, muttered carelessly and Harry narrowed his eyes at the retreating back. He was pretty certain he had seen that guy smirk and he wondered if he was paranoid to think that the guy had knocked into him on purpose.

"Potter, what are you still doing here?" Snape appeared in the doorway and raised an eyebrow.

A quick glance around showed Harry that everybody had already returned to their tables and he cursed inwardly. "Sorry, sir, had trouble finding an ingredient," he replied absently and slipped past the Potions Master, ignoring the eyes he could feel burning into his back.

Snape probably didn't believe him, but he wasn't about to call him out on it during class.

"What took you so long?" Draco asked softly with a frown when he arrived back next to him.

"Sorry, it took some time to find all the ingredients," he whispered and put the ingredients down on the table.

"Hm," was all the response he got and they set about slicing the Lionfish spines and measuring the amount of Salamander blood that had to be poured in first in the cauldron.

"Welcome to the first lesson in Advanced Transfiguration," Sirius greeted them in the afternoon after they had finished their lunch. "Like always this year will be more difficult than the previous year. However if you study hard and concentrate on the spells, you shouldn't have too much difficulty. If you do encounter some problems, you can always ask me for help."

Advanced Transfiguration was with the Hufflepuffs, though the amount of students had significantly lowered in comparison with the previous year. Advanced Transfiguration was one of the most difficult subjects, aside from Advanced Potions, so it made sense that the amount of students was lowered after the exams were over.

"Now, last year you have been transfiguring small creatures into other small ones, correct?"

Some of the students nodded affirmatively and Sirius continued, "This year you'll be handling bigger creatures. You will also learn the theory of turning into an Animagus, but if anyone has an interest in actually becoming one, you'll have to wait until you're graduated and go to the Ministry to ask for help in becoming one. If you do it without the Ministry's approval, you'll have to pay a heavy fine if they discover it."

Harry barely contained his snort at hearing Sirius say that. It was ironic how his godfather was lecturing the class on how to become an Animagus legally, while he and his friends had become one during their school years illegally.

Sirius shot him a quick look, as if he had heard the concealed snort and raised an eyebrow. Harry looked back with innocent eyes. Sirius' mouth twitched as if he wanted to smile, but he looked away and continued with his explanation about the spells they would cover this year.

Curses turned out to be a very interesting class. It was taught by a tough looking man called Larten Moondagger; he was somewhere in the fifties and had long silver grey hair that reached the middle of his back, and which was tied together in a low ponytail. He had apparently been a Head Auror until five years ago when he had decided to quit his job at the Ministry and had become a duel instructor, specializing in curses. His bare arms revealed various scars, some still a shining deep red, others faded to a silver line. He seemed to have a small limp, courtesy of receiving a Shatter bone curse in his right leg years ago.

All Houses were put together for this class. There were eight Hufflepuffs, ten Ravenclaws, nine Gryffindors and seven Slytherins attending the course.

The Ravenclaws were seated to the complete left of the classroom and were as always ignoring the other students, though occasionally some of them glanced to the other side of the room. The Hufflepuffs were sitting in the row next to the Ravenclaws, imitating their seating arrangements of the Great Hall. Next to them were the Gryffindors and the Slytherins sat closest to the door.

The seating arrangements weren't really strategically chosen – if strategic had been in mind when choosing the seats, Gryffindor and Slytherin would have been the furthest apart from each other.

Unfortunately for Harry, Ron had chosen this subject as well and he was seated next to Hermione. Ron had thrown him a very foul glare when they had entered the classroom and Harry had done his best to ignore the glare, pretending he hadn't seen it and had chosen the seat furthest away from Ron, Draco following him after throwing his own glare at the red haired boy.

But it wasn't only Ron who threw the occasional glare at the Slytherins. Dean and Seamus had smiled reassuringly at him, but Pansy had sneered at him – which he had expected – and some of the other Gryffindors had looked at him suspiciously, which admittedly had hurt him. Even some Hufflepuffs and a few Ravenclaws had glanced at him uneasily and he figured that was a result of Molly Weasley spreading her gossip in the papers and these students being too naïve to realize the truth.

Inwardly he sighed and focused on the lesson, which was now a basic introduction to the theory. They would be taught the curses in the next lessons.

And so the days flew by; if the seventh years had thought they could use their free hours to relax a bit, they were very wrong. The amount of homework they were given made sure they were busy with it during the evenings and the free hours, leaving them barely any time left to relax in the evening. Quidditch practice had started again as well, and so another two evenings were filled for a few hours.

Some of the students had approached Harry about the defence club of last year, asking if he was planning on opening the club again, but he wasn't certain about it. The club had started as a way to make sure the Slytherin students were able to defend themselves against the other Houses and during the actual fight with the Death Eaters. Now that the war was over, Harry didn't think it was necessary to keep the club alive. When some people had protested, pointing out that the other Houses were still out to get them, even with the war being over, Harry had told them they knew enough to defend themselves against any attacks and that the teachers wouldn't go easy on the students attacking each other.

Some of the other students had indeed attacked some Slytherins since the school year had started again. They seemed to believe that the Slytherins had no right to attend school after the war, thinking that every Slytherin had been a Death Eater. None of those attackers seemed to realize that the Slytherins they had attacked, were as much a victim of the war as they had been. Slytherin had lost as much as the other Houses had, but other people didn't care about that. In their minds, all Slytherins were evil, regardless of whether they had fought in the war or not.

Even the first years – who hadn't even been there during the final fight – didn't escape the attacks and after the first two weeks, it was decided that all first years would travel in group and with an older student with them if possible.

The teachers were ruthless in punishing the ones who dared to attack the other students – especially Snape and McGonagall. Snape was pissed off – understandably – that his students were targeted by the other Houses and McGonagall was angry that students would behave that way while they had seen what hate could do to someone.

The amount of detentions had never been that high in the beginning of a school year as this year.

18th of September

It was a Tuesday, the third week since the start of the new school year, when Harry discovered just how much Molly's gossip in the newspaper had influenced some students.

He and Draco were working on their potion, adding new ingredients to it, stirring them and recording the progress of their potion on paper.

Snape was walking around, offering assistance to students who were in trouble, when one of the Ravenclaw boys, whose brother had been murdered by a Death Eater, walked past Harry's and Draco's cauldron.

Both the boys weren't paying attention to the Ravenclaw student – they were used to students walking around the classroom to grab an ingredient from the storage room they had forgotten and this particular student was seated behind them, so when he walked past them, they merely assumed he went to the storage room.

However when their potion suddenly created a thin line of dark grey smog, Harry grew alarmed.

"Draco, is the potion supposed to be doing this?" he asked apprehensively.

Draco looked up and when he noticed the sudden change of their potion, his eyes grew wide. "No, it doesn't. I think we need to …"

But before he could finish his sentence, the potion exploded and both boys felt two large, furry bodies throwing them against the floor and covering them in the progress.

Harry made the mistake of accidentally inhaling the smoke that was circling around their table and he began to cough harshly, his throat burning and his eyes watering.

"Harry, are you okay?" Draco asked him and he could hear students panicking and Snape snapping at them to shut up.

A spell took care of the dangerous smoke and the air cleared up immediately. Mara and Ruby raised their heads and sniffed around. When they were certain there was no smoke left, they let their masters stand up.

Harry immediately doubled over and his coughing fit grew worse. He felt familiar hands settling on his shoulder and the worried voice of Draco sounded in his ear, "Harry? Harry! Did you inhale some of the smoke?"

He nodded weakly and tried to gasp for air. The burning in his throat had intensified and he whimpered in response, blindly grabbing Draco's arm and squeezing it.

"Potter, raise your head and open your mouth; I need to see how bad the damage to your throat is," Snape murmured and managed to take a quick look at Harry's throat, before the latter bent his head again when another coughing fit attacked him.

"The smoke did some damage to your throat, but you should be fine once Pomfrey heals you," Snape nodded to Draco. "Take him to the Infirmary. We'll discuss later what we'll do about your potion."

"Yes, sir," Draco muttered and brought an arm around Harry's waist and led him out of the dungeon, while Harry's body rattled with his coughing. Mara and Ruby were following behind them, their low rumbling signifying their anger that their masters were attacked.

They entered the Infirmary and Pomfrey came immediately, raising an eyebrow when she saw Harry standing doubled over, coughing harshly.

"Oh dear, sit down, please," she patted on the closest bed and Harry sat down on it, taking a big gulp of air when his coughing fit released him for a moment.

"What happened?"

"We were working on a potion and it suddenly exploded and it released some kind of poisonous smoke. Harry inhaled some of it and he started coughing," Draco explained, hovering near his boyfriend.

Pomfrey tsk'd and took out her wand. "What kind of potion are you working on?"

"The Wiggenweld Potion."

"Ah yes, that potion can release dangerous smoke if a leaf of the oak is thrown in it," she murmured and peered in Harry's eyes. "Did you throw a leaf in it accidentally?"

"What? No, of course not. We were following the instructions," Draco frowned.

"Hm, well, I'll let Professor Snape figure out what went wrong with your potion. You can go back to class; Mister Potter needs to stay here for a few hours, while the potion will fix his throat," Pomfrey walked over to a cabinet and rummaged through it, before she came back with a vial filled with a gooey, rose coloured potion.

"Alright, you need to drink this up – no objections, young man – and then lay down while the potion does its work," she instructed and handed over the vial.

"I'll come back later to check on you, okay?" Draco whispered and gave him a kiss on his cheek after Harry nodded.

Pomfrey kept standing there, staring at him with hawk eyes until he had swallowed the last drop of the potion, which vaguely tasted like a mix of cherries and raspberries.

She nodded satisfied and left when he lied down on the bed, waiting for the potion to kick in.

He stared at the ceiling and wondered how a leaf of the oak tree could have landed in their potion. Neither he or Draco had taken oak leaves from the storage room – there was no need to, because it wasn't in their ingredients lists.

That only left the option of someone having thrown it in their cauldron while they weren't looking.

"Is Master feeling well again?" Ruby revealed himself, sitting next to him. His tail with the fire on it burning brightly, was curled around his paws.

"The potion is starting to work, yeah, so I'll be fine soon," Harry whispered reassuringly.

Ruby nodded and laid his head down on Harry's bed, closing his eyes in contentment when Harry started to rub behind his ears. "Thanks for helping me in the classroom."

"Master has to be protected," Ruby murmured through their mental bond and Harry smiled.

Half an hour later, the burning in his throat had been soothed by the potion and he could swallow again without feeling like there were burning shards of glass stuck in his throat. The coughing fit had eased up as well and Harry was relieved that he could breathe in again without feeling like his lungs would come out of his throat.

"How are you feeling, Mister Potter?"

Harry was startled by the sudden appearance of the nurse in front of him and he stopped petting Ruby. "Ah, I'm feeling okay; the potion worked well," he replied and furrowed his eyebrows when he noticed Pomfrey's eyes.

There was something wrong with them; he had seen that particular look before, but where?

"That is good to hear," she murmured absently and stared at him with blank eyes.

"So, can I go now?" he asked warily. "I'm feeling well again."

"No, not yet; I need to examine you again."

"Why? I assure you I'm feeling fine."

"No, no, you're not feeling fine," she stated matter-of-factly.

Looking at her slightly glazed over eyes, he finally made the connection in his mind and he grew alarmed. Glancing around quickly, he saw his wand lying on the nightstand and he bent sideways to grab it.

At least that was the plan but a thick rope bound his arms tightly against his sides and he fell back, cursing underneath his breath.

Shit, how the hell did he always land in this kind of situations?

Ruby started to growl and he sprung forwards with his teeth bared, intent on throwing the nurse on the floor to prevent her from doing anything worse to his master.

The one using Pomfrey as his puppet however was quicker and Pomfrey turned around to face the furious lion and a hissed curse threw Ruby back and he landed with a loud 'crack' against the wall, sliding down until he was sprawled out on the ground, his eyes half closed.

"Ruby!" Harry yelled shocked and he was afraid his pet had gotten seriously hurt. Was he unconscious? Or was he worse off?

"No need to worry about your precious pet, Potter," Pomfrey told him calmly and before he could retort or try to scream loudly in the hopes of being heard by someone in the hallway, she uttered one spell very clearly, "Constricto."

The spell wrapped itself around his neck and tightened, constricting his breathing. Then it seemed to slither down his throat and it started to crush his lungs together, making him gasp for air.

He started to trash around, hoping to break free from the ropes so that he could grab his wand and break the spell, but the ropes didn't even give him an inch of freedom, and the lack of air was making him very lightheaded. He knew he should try to call his magic to the surface, do something to break the spell, but his energy was leaking away with every second that passed without him being able to breathe.

He tried to gasp for air, but his airway was sealed off and he started to panic. He didn't want to die here! He had survived Voldemort for Merlin's sake! He couldn't die now because the nurse was being controlled by someone else through the Imperius curse.

But his struggling weakened and black spots started to appear in front of his eyes.

Did he survive all those years, just to die here in the Infirmary?

"I'll make sure the student responsible for ruining your potion gets punished," Snape murmured with a glare thrown at the Ravenclaw student, who was waiting at his desk.

The boy flinched and looked down.

"Let Potter know you can recreate the potion during the weekends," the professor continued. "You can start this Saturday at two o'clock."

Draco opened his mouth, but was struck by a sudden tingling feeling in the back of his neck. He frowned and brought his hand to his back to rub at the spot, but the tingling feeling intensified and an ice cold shiver ran over his spine.

"What the hell?" he muttered bemused.

"Is everything all right?" Snape demanded to know and frowned.

"I don't …"

He got cut off by Mara, who began pulling at his trousers.

"Get your arse to the Infirmary! Your mate is in danger! Don't you feel that?" she snapped at him through their mental bond and without thinking twice on how she had known he felt weird, he took off, ignoring Snape's demand to explain what was happening.

He tore through the hallways, paying no heed to the yelling of other students who got shoved aside by him and Mara.

"Draco, what's wrong?" Daphne asked startled when he ran past her.

He turned his head around and snapped, "No time to explain; send a professor to the Infirmary now!"

She nodded grimly and ran away, searching for a professor who was closest.

The doors of the Infirmary banged open and he came to an abrupt halt when he took in the scene in front of him. Pomfrey was standing in front of Harry's bed with a blank face, her wand pointed straight at the boy lying in the bed. When his gaze shot to Harry, he grew horrified; Harry was lying bound with ropes on the bed, his lips turning blue while his open mouth tried to desperately gasp for air; his eyes having rolled back in their sockets so that he could only see the white of his eyeballs.

He became furious and without thinking his hand shot out and the air in front of him grew into a solid, silver coloured ball. He drew his hand back and punched the air ball towards Pomfrey. The nurse was too late to turn around and the ball hit her square in her side, throwing her hard against the floor. Her wand clattered on the ground and rolled underneath the nearest bed.

"Incarcerous!"

Thick ropes winded around her body and made sure she couldn't move anymore.

With Pomfrey's concentration broken, the spell released its deathly grip around Harry's throat and lungs and the boy immediately began to cough and gasp noisily for air.

"Harry," Draco murmured and with trembling arms he removed the ropes, and Harry fell into his arms as soon as his arms were free again.

"Dr-Draco," Harry hiccupped and his lips slowly regained their colour with every breath he took.

"What happened here?"

"How's Ruby?" Harry ignored Draco's question for the time being and he turned his head around to catch sight of his lion.

Ruby was standing on trembling paws and he shook his massive head.

"I'm sorry, Master, that I couldn't protect you," Ruby sounded frustrated and angry at himself.

"It's not your fault, Ruby, I'm already glad that you're okay," Harry replied relieved.

"Would someone mind telling me why Greengrass seemed in such a hurry to get me here?" Sirius appeared in the doorway, his face gaining a perplexed look once his eyes caught sight of the bound, unconscious Pomfrey on the floor. Then his gaze slowly slid to Harry being embraced by Draco on the bed and Mara and Ruby standing next to each other. "Something tells me that this wasn't something as simple as Harry refusing to take his medicine. For that matter, what on earth did you do to end up here? School has only been going on for three weeks," he continued perplexed.

Harry took a deep breath and started to explain everything that had happened.

"How did someone manage to put the Imperius curse on the head nurse?" Kingsley asked, rubbing his forehead, which was creased with worry lines. "Was it someone in the school?"

"No, that isn't possible. An alarm would have gone off if someone used an Unforgivable in Hogwarts," McGonagall answered coolly, not taking too kindly to Kingsley's suggestion that someone in the school was responsible for cursing her head nurse.

After Harry was done talking, Sirius had ushered them to McGonagall, while taking the unconscious nurse with him. The students they had passed on their way to the Headmistress' office had started whispering once they saw the unconscious Pomfrey floating next to Professor Black and rumours were surely flying around the school now.

Harry and Draco were ordered to take a seat, while Sirius remained standing behind them. Their pets had turned invisible again and were seated in front of their legs.

Head Auror Kingsley had been called once Sirius had made it clear that an Unforgivable had been used on the head nurse.

With the arrival of Kingsley and a younger Auror (a honey blonde haired woman who had introduced herself as Kelly Halfeger), Harry had been asked to explain again what had transpired in the Infirmary, Draco joining the conversation at the end.

"Severus, do you have an idea as to how this is possible?" McGonagall asked and her mouth tightened in wariness.

Startled, everybody turned around to see Snape standing near the bookcase, closest to the door. When had he arrived?

"I have a suspicion, yes," Snape inclined his head and studied the dazed looking Pomfrey. She had been revived with a spell as soon as Harry had told them what had happened and her symptoms were linked to the Imperius curse after Kingsley had used a spell to determine whether or not she had been under the influence of an Unforgivable.

"It is possible that someone brought her under the Imperius curse by first using Legilimency on her," he explained thoughtfully.

Kingsley frowned. "There are not many accomplished in the art of Legilimency; don't you need to be in close contact to use it?"

"Usually contact is required, yes," Snape agreed. "But there have been a few cases before where someone was very skilled at Legilimency and didn't need to be in close contact to make it work. Usually though, that required that they were already familiar with the person they were using Legilimency on."

"So we are searching for someone very skilled at Legilimency, who has been in close contact with the nurse," Kingsley muttered and scowled. "That doesn't make it exactly easy, Snape."

"I was asked how it was possible for Pomfrey to be under the Imperius curse while no one in the school used it – I was under the impression you would realize it wouldn't be easy, Kingsley," Snape sneered and crossed his arms in front of his chest.

"If I may interrupt," Kelly said softly when it looked like Kingsley and Snape were ready to verbally assault each other. "I think I can think of one person who would be capable of doing this."

"Oh?" Kingsley raised an eyebrow and shifted his attention from Snape to his subordinate.

"We're looking for someone powerful, very capable in Legilimency and who has been in close contact with the head nurse," she summed up. "I can only think of one person who fits all three criteria and that's Albus Dumbledore."

Shocked silence reigned in the office before Snape cleared his throat. "Well, he does fit the criteria and now we know why the Imperio'd Pomfrey tried to kill Potter. Dumbledore tried to kill him last year already – it could be that he decided to try again through someone else this time."

"And here I thought Voldemort was horrible," Harry muttered and Draco threw him a weak smile.

"So what you're saying is that basically everyone can be used to kill Harry once Dumbledore manages to use Legilimency on them?" Sirius said slowly and a troubled look appeared in his eyes, while one of his hands clenched into a fist.

At first Harry didn't understand this weird reaction to Snape's explanation, until realization hit him and his breath hitched. Sirius was scared he would be used as a tool to kill Harry.

He opened his mouth to reassure his godfather, but Snape beat him to it.

"Don't worry, mutt, to use Legilimency, the other one has to possess a decent brain," he sneered. "So you don't have to worry about hurting your precious godson."

Sirius glared at him, but deep inside his eyes, Harry could read the relieve at hearing Snape's reassurance.

"I don't think Albus will try to use Legilimency again on someone else," McGonagall said thoughtfully. "He knows we'll be more alert to that method now, so he won't waste his time on using the same technique again." She glanced at Pomfrey. "Considering we don't know how damaged her mind is, I'll send her to Saint Mungos; they'll know how to heal her." She grabbed a blank parchment and started to scribble something on it. "I'll have to hire a new nurse for the Infirmary and I'll install new wards that will let us know immediately if a patient is in danger."

"You don't have such wards yet?" Kelly asked astonished and flushed when McGonagall stared at her.

"No, until now, the nurse hadn't tried to kill a patient," she responded drily. She focused her attention on the two schoolboys in front of her desk. "Potter, I'll notify the teachers that you won't be attending class today; Malfoy, you can go back to your classes."

Draco opened his mouth, presumably to protest, but McGonagall's sharp glance made him close his mouth again and he looked down, scowling at the floor.

"Come on," Harry murmured and together with their pets, they left the office, where the tension hadn't dissolved yet.

Draco insisted on escorting Harry back to his room and Harry allowed his fussing, having learnt by now when to pick battles with the blond.

"Are you sure you're okay?" Draco asked worried and his hands grabbed Harry's face and he stared into his eyes, as if those would show him Harry's health.

"Yes, I'm fine," Harry insisted and covered Draco's hands with his own, bringing them back down. "I'm fine, Draco," he repeated softly and releasing one hand, he brought his free hand up to caress Draco's neck, pushing him softly down to press a kiss on his lips. They broke apart with a soft gasp and stood staring in each other's eyes until Harry cleared his throat and stepped back.

"You better go back to your classes – McGonagall doesn't deal well with students playing hooky," he smiled and winked.

Draco snorted. "No, I have noticed that already." He turned around and walked back to the entrance. Before he stepped through it, he turned his head to look at Harry. "I'll come back later, okay?"

Harry nodded and waved before bending down to grab his schoolbag. Might as well start on his homework now.

23rd of September

By Friday, during dinner, students were still trying to figure out just what had happened to make Pomfrey leave her position for an undefined period of time. She had been replaced a day later by a small, frail, brown haired woman, who looked as if she would faint if someone looked at her a bit too long. Regardless, she was good at Healing, so she had taken over the position as head nurse of Hogwarts now.

McGonagall had told the students that Pomfrey had requested some time off to deal with 'personal issues'. Of course the students weren't ready to accept that tale, but none of the teachers were willing to come forth with more details, so all they could do, was speculate and conjure up every possible event that could have occurred; ranging from the more plausible ("Maybe she got hurt somehow and they had to take her to the hospital?") to the more outrageous speculations ("I heard that she got caught messing around with someone underage and they sent her away!").

"You'd think they would have found something else to talk about by now," Draco muttered, rolling his eyes, when they had returned to Harry's room after dinner.

They were lounging on his bed, after having made an honest attempt on working on their homework. That attempt lasted for a good five minutes, before they had both decided that some private time for them was in order.

"Give it one more week and then something else will happen to snatch their attention," Harry responded smiling.

Draco sighed and shook his head.

They were quiet for a while until Draco turned around to lie on his side, facing Harry, who looked at him with inquiring eyes.

"What?"

"Hm? Nothing much; just that I missed being with you," Draco breathed out and reached out to caress Harry's jaw with his index finger.

Harry had a mind to tell him he had been with him practically all the time, save for at night, but he understood what Draco meant after a few seconds. While they hadn't been separated for long since they had arrived back at school, neither had they had really time for each other. Until now their free time had been filled up mostly with homework and Quidditch practice with only a few stolen moments between classes where at the most they stole a few heated kisses, which only served to bring them all fired up with no means of relief any time soon.

"I missed you too," he murmured and closed the small distance.

Their hands slipped into hair while their mouths met in a soft kiss. Their lips slid across each other, exchanging light kisses and nips.

Harry was the one who grew bold this time and he shifted a bit, until his right knee slid between Draco's legs and his tongue licked Draco's lips, asking silently for them to open up. He was granted entrance instantly and soon their tongues were curling around each other, sliding across teeth before they found each other again.

Sapphire awoke from her deep sleep when she heard a guttural moan coming from the bed and her ear twitched when she stared at her master, before she jumped off the desk and slipped out of the room, deciding she would get an undisturbed sleep if she slept elsewhere.

Pale fingers busied themselves with removing the small buttons from their holes while Harry worked his tie loose. He took over when his shirt swung open and wiggled out of the garment, letting it fall on the floor. Sliding backwards on the bed to give Draco some space to remove his own clothing, he quickly tugged his zipper down and pushed the fabric down, until he could kick off his trousers, leaving him in his boxers; his socks discarded when they had climbed into the bed.

Looking back at his boyfriend, he couldn't help but stare when Draco's muscles flexed when he folded his trousers and shirt before placing them on the floor.

"You got any lube?" Draco's voice sounded a bit husky and a particular part of Harry's lower body decided it quite liked the huskiness.

"Eh," Harry's eyes slid to his nightstand and he crawled forwards, leaning over Draco's slightly spread legs to reach the drawer. "I think I put it in there," he muttered absently and riffled through the open drawer, pushing aside some paper, a couple of quills and a watch. The tube was hiding in the back of the drawer and when his fingers skidded across it, he grabbed it with a triumphant grin. "Here it is," he announced and shut the drawer with a small 'click', before handing the tube over.

Draco glanced at it and seeing it still unopened, raised an eyebrow. "Have you bought this recently?"

Harry cleared his throat. "I, eh, had it delivered actually." He blushed when Draco smirked. "What? I could hardly write it on the shopping list when Sirius went shopping," he defended himself.

"That would have been awkward," Draco agreed and his hands closed around Harry's upper arms, pulling him against his body. "And very bad for my health," he whispered against slightly parted lips and nuzzled a smooth cheek with his nose, while one of his hands drifted lower, caressing up and down Harry's arm, before the journey went further on Harry's shoulder and then downwards, rubbing a nipple briefly making his dark haired boyfriend whimper.

A shiver went through Draco's body when Harry let his own hands drift across his chest and he hid a smile, bending his head to catch reddened lips.

At one point, between the kissing and caressing, their boxers came off and were dropped carelessly on the floor, making them groan simultaneously when their engorged cocks pressed against each other.

Feeling Draco's hard prick pushing against his stomach, Harry decided to try something out and he slid downwards, pressing light kisses on Draco's collar bone, between his nipples, over his abs … Draco moaned encouragingly and he spread his legs, creating space for Harry to lie in.

When he stopped sliding down, his mouth was right above Draco's twitching cock and he opened his mouth, his breath caressing the smooth head, which was starting to get slick with pre come.

Draco's moan turned into a surprised whimper when Harry's mouth closed around his erection and a hand shot out to rest on Harry's head, but he didn't push down, for which the dark haired boy was grateful for.

This was the first time he would be giving his boyfriend head and he hoped he didn't screw up. Draco had given him a blowjob a couple of times before and he tried to remember what the blond had exactly done, figuring copying would be the best to do for now.

Slowly he began bobbing his head up and down, taking a bit more of Draco in with every bob down, but he had to pull back a bit when his gagging reflex started to act up. He brought one hand around the part he couldn't reach with his mouth and started to softly squeeze, while he concentrated on sucking and licking. His tongue slid over the wide head every time he came up and he had to admit that he didn't mind the taste too much. Sure it was a bit salty and bitter, but it wasn't bad. Although his cheeks started to hurt a bit; but he didn't stop and started to suck harder, his tongue constantly licking every part it could reach.

"Fuck, Harry," Draco whimpered breathlessly, obviously not having expected Harry to give him a blowjob.

Harry smiled when he heard Draco and hummed a bit, making the blond curse again.

"Shit, so good, so good," Draco muttered and he closed his eyes and the hand in the dark, soft hair tightened a bit.

The next squeeze and his tongue pressing against the slit was apparently too much and he almost chocked when his mouth was suddenly filled with a sticky, bitter substance that flooded straight down his throat before he pulled back and began to swallow. He drew back, coughing a bit and wiped away the bit of come that had dribbled down his chin when the amount had been too much for him to swallow.

"Was it good?" he asked uncertainly and was startled when Draco chuckled breathlessly.

"Good? It was amazing," he grinned and rose up to grab Harry by his arms and he shifted them around until Harry was now lying down on his back. He bent down to kiss him and tasted himself in Harry's mouth.

"Now it's time to give you attention," Draco winked and his lips trailed down Harry's chin, licking a particular spot in Harry's neck, making the boy groan in response.

While his lips closed around a pink nub, nipping and licking at it, his hand scrambled blindly across the bed until his fingers brushed against the cold plastic of the tube. He grabbed it and uncapped it, squeezing a good amount of the lube on his fingers. He rubbed his fingers together to warm up the cold gel and with his other hand, he parted Harry's legs after softly urging him on his stomach.

"Oh," Harry's eyes shot open when he felt a finger pressing against his entrance and he hissed softly when it slid in. He squirmed softly, getting used to the invasion after not having felt it for more than a month and bit his lower lip when his dick brushed against the sheets.

He arched his back when he felt a tongue sliding down his spine and a second finger entered him, and they started scissoring him, spreading him as much as possible while he pulled his legs up until he was kneeling on the bed. Pressing down with his arse, he moaned when those fingers prodded against his sweet spot and his head fell forwards on a pillow, his hands clenching in the sheets.

While a hand began sliding up and down his cock, a third finger joined the other two and the three fingers pushed against his prostate, electing a loud moan.

"Fuck, Draco," he moaned gutturally and whimpered softly when the fingers disappeared after giving him a few more prods, leaving him feeling empty.

"I want to see you," Draco whispered against his shoulder and he was softly urged on his back.

"Ready?"

"Hmhm," Harry sighed and spread his legs. He felt Draco's cock pressing against his entrance and then he slid inside of him, pressing forwards until he was completely inside, stretching him more, leaving a slight burn behind.

"Ah, hm," he panted and clasped his arms around Draco's shoulders.

"You okay?" Draco blinked the sweat out of his eyes and looked at him worriedly.

Harry smiled reassuringly. "Yeah, I'm okay; you can move."

Draco pulled back slowly and pushed back in at the same pace, while his lips found Harry's mouth again.

He shifted his hips a bit and with the next thrust, Harry felt him pressing against his sweet spot and he moaned loudly, feeling Draco smile against his lips.

He began to pant and pulled his head back, giving Draco access to his neck, feeling lips sucking at his skin.

"Ah, oh, you – hm, harder, please," he groaned and his hands clamped down on Draco's shoulders when the next thrust was delivered harder.

They picked up their pace and the sweat on their bodies made moving a bit easier, though it also made it a bit more difficult to keep their hands where they wanted to.

"Merlin, you're so beautiful," Draco whispered huskily in his ear and he could feel himself flush a bit, though it was probably not noticeable, giving how warm he already felt.

The bed creaked softly with every thrust Draco delivered to Harry's body and they both could feel their orgasm approaching.

"Ah, ah, fuck, Draco!" he called out and he threw his head back, his eyes falling shut when his orgasm made him see white stars, and it was as if lighting appeared behind his closed eyelids. His body felt like it was suffering from his own personal mini earthquake and he trembled and shook and he could feel his cum landing on his stomach.

With his heart still racing, he opened his eyes and Draco suddenly delivered a harsh thrust, which buried him deep inside his body and he held the blond in his arms, while lips were sucking at a spot right underneath his ear, and he felt his canal being flooded when Draco came, feeling the warm liquid hitting his walls. Hands were clenched tight around his sweaty hips and when Draco pulled out softly, he could feel some of his cum dripping out of his entrance, leaving him wet and sticky.

Afterwards, Draco slid next to him, pulling him in his arms until Harry's head was lying on his shoulder and casted a spell to clean themselves.

"Stay the night?" Harry asked, when his breath was regular again.

"Of course," Draco smiled and his hand went absently up and down over Harry's arm.

They grew silent and Harry's eyes slipped close. He had missed this, missed lying together with Draco, missed sleeping together. Last year, it had been easy to sneak in each other's bed and spent the night together, but with his own private room this year, it had been weirdly enough more difficult to spend the night together. Most of that had to do with their busy schedules, but they also didn't want other people to start asking questions if Draco disappeared at night or worse, try to follow him.

Harry was almost lulled into sleep by listening to Draco's heartbeat, until Draco opened his mouth.

"I love you," he suddenly blurted out and his sharp intake of breath indicated he hadn't expected that to come out like that.

Green eyes shot open in shock and his heart started thumping wildly and he wondered whether he had heard that correctly.

"What?" he stammered and rose up and leant on his elbow to look at Draco.

A bright blush was visible on Draco's cheeks, even with the candlelight, but he had a determined look in his eyes.

"I said: I love you," he repeated and swallowed.

"Oh," Harry blinked and gazed at him with wide eyes. He definitely hadn't expected to hear that.

It dawned on him that they were together for almost a year and he really should have expected something like this to pop up. The thing was with this being his first relationship, he had kind of just followed Draco's lead, only having a vague idea as to what a romantic relationship entailed.

But this wasn't bad, right? Sure, he hadn't expected Draco to blurt that out now, but it wasn't bad. It was … nice to hear that actually. Nice to know that the blond's feelings went further than just liking him.

"Harry? Can you please say something?" Draco sounded nervous. "I know I just blurted that out and I probably should have found a better moment to say it, but really, when is the appropriate moment to say something like that? Saying it after a class has finished is rather weird and during dinner is not really appropriate either. Oh, but I guess saying it after shagging can be interpreted wrong as well. I hope you don't. Interpret it wrongly I mean. Because I really do love you, you know. Can't imagine my life without you anymore and so I thought I should just let you know that. That I love you. Because I really do. And …"

Harry cut off his rambling with a kiss and he chuckled. "Calm down, Draco," he murmured and stuck out his hand to caress Draco's cheek.

Grey eyes stared at him. "Sorry, it's just that I don't want you to think I only said it because we did it," he muttered and sounded strangely petulant.

"I know you mean it," Harry smiled and gave him another slow kiss that Draco responded to instantly. He pulled back reluctantly and smiled softly. "I love you too."

"You do?" Draco's voice reached a higher note and he flushed, clearing his throat. "I mean, good, that's good to hear."

Harry couldn't supress the snicker from escaping and got his arm smacked as a result.

"Shut up," the blond mumbled and scowled half-heartedly.

"Hm, good night," Harry whispered and wrapped his arm around Draco's chest when he laid back down.

Draco smiled. "Good night."

That night they both fell asleep with a smile on their face, not knowing yet that their lives would soon change completely.

AN2: Does this count as a cliffhanger? I don't really think it does ... I'll let you be the judge of that ;)

So what did you think of it? Was it worth the wait? (I hope so!) Please leave a review behind with your thoughts!

I'll try to keep my regular schedule of updating every two weeks; at the very least I won't let it get it as bad as I sometimes did with the prequel of this story *winces* But I'll try.

The poll on my fanfiction profile to decide on Harry's future job is still open for those who still want to vote.

Next chapter will be called "History". And this means that we're entering the MPreg part of the story. Just warning you all in advance ^^

Cuddles

Melissa
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Survival of the fittest