Chapter Text
"Your hair is so soft," Harry mumbled as he woke up the next morning, making Malfoy jump.
He was once again exploring Harry's face with feather light touches but this time Harry refused to 'sleep' through it. When he tried to pull his hand away, Harry caught it in his free one and held it to his mouth so he could press a kiss on his palm before he placed it on his cheek again. "Don't stop, feels nice."
And it did, his headache was still there and his entire body felt sore, but it felt somewhat less bad when Malfoy's fingers wandered over his face. He also didn't let the opportunity slip to play with Malfoy's hair in return.
"You realise how ridiculous this is, don't you?" Malfoy asked quietly.
"'s not that ridiculous."
"We don't like each other."
"Says who?" Harry yawned.
"Everyone, our history, we're—"
"We're not the same people anymore are we? Things happened, and we changed. We shouldn't let the past decide over our future."
Their small enclosed space in Harry's bed stayed silent after this, both of them trapped in their own thoughts.
It'd have been nice, if there wasn't the hammering headache and the pain spreading through his entire body. There wasn't much they could do to stop this from getting worse, Harry knew that.
"How late is it, what do you think?" Draco asked quietly.
"Not too late. We missed breakfast, that's for sure. But too early for lunch."
"I'm not really hungry."
"Me neither. Do you feel as miserable as I do?"
"If you feel like a herd of Hippogriffs just stomped all over you, then yes." Malfoy groaned, burying his face in Harry's neck.
Harry shuddered as warm puffs of air tickled his sensitive skin. They both knew there was only one way out of their misery, but Harry didn't know if either of them were ready for it yet.
Cuddling in bed, getting along just fine, all of this was something he could mostly forget once this was over. But a kiss?
Harry's heart missed yet another beat at the thought. This wasn't fair, this wasn't how things were supposed to go. He couldn't tell if this was Malfoy and he, or the bond, or if someone was playing some manner of sick joke on them. No matter what it was, it felt strange while at the same time it didn't.
"Do you think maybe one day we'd have ended up like this anyways?" Harry asked, not sure if he wanted to hear an answer.
"I don't know. Maybe? Many years from now? Maybe after a row of mistakes on both our sides which left us heartbroken somewhere in France. We'd meet, and drink, and laugh. And over time this could have become real."
"That sounds rather sad, does it?" Harry breathed with a smile. "Let's skip the heartbreak."
Feeling a sharp intake of breath, Harry waited for Draco to say something. But he didn't.
Nudging Draco's forehead with his nose until he looked up, eyes wide, Harry smiled at him. "Can we skip them? Can I kiss you now?"
A nod, painfully slow and disbelieving was all Draco could muster, but that was enough.
Leaning down, Harry pressed a soft kiss first onto Draco's head, then nose, before he finally reached his lips.
Hesitating for a second, Harry waited if he'd pull away, and when he didn't he closed the small gap between them.
It started slowly, warm lips on warm lips, Draco's hand coming back to Harry's face, touches dragged out, every second felt like hours and minutes like the blink of an eye. But it didn't take long until it got more desperate, heated, every touch too much and not even close enough.
Until they broke apart gasping for air.
"Well all this feels terribly real," Harry breathed. "Maybe we don't have to wait for France."
"Or maybe this is a lie, and it's the bond and nothing else."
Harry's heart stung and he pulled Draco closer to him. "I don't think it is the bond alone. Do you really believe that?"
"It's the easiest explanation."
"That's not an answer," Harry mumbled, cradling his fingers through Draco's hair.
"I don't like having hopes, Potter."
"Harry. Please at least say my name. And I think you should be a bit more cheerful, we just snogged and it wasn't that bad after all."
"I don't know, I've had better I think."
"Wha—? How dare you—"
Before Harry could finish his sentence Draco laughed and rolled over, pinning him successfully to the bed. "You know this won't end well, this is us after all, right?"
"I think we could miss an early France if we didn't try," Harry breathed, eyes wandering between Draco's eyes and the smile curving his lips.
"Maybe we should try then."
They spent the rest of the morning until lunch snogging each other senseless and Harry hadn't felt that good in ages. They only left the bed because now that their pain was gone their hunger had returned. They both desperately needed a cold shower before they could face anyone else.
"Looks like everyone's sticking to Hermione's plan," Harry whispered as they entered the Great Hall and saw their friends sitting together at the Slytherin table.
"I fear this will be a nightmare."
Pressing Draco's hand, Harry tried to keep a straight face, but by the way Draco snorted he knew he failed spectacularly.
"You're such a terrible actor."
"I'm trying my best here!" Harry hissed back.
"See, that's better. I just have to keep you annoyed at me."
"That's not that hard." Rolling his eyes, Harry sat down next to Hermione and waited for Draco to squeeze himself into the free spot next to him before he looked up to see everyone watching them with worried eyes. The only one who looked rather amused at the situation was Zabini.
"You alright there? How was your mother's wedding?" Draco asked as he reached for the potatoes.
"Lovely as always. Erwin is a nice man, his son would be to your taste," Zabini winked and Harry felt Draco next to him straighten his back.
"Thanks, but for now I'm rather busy."
"So I've heard. Can you imagine how I looked when I saw those two," he pointed at Ron and Hermione, "sitting with Pansy this morning?"
"I knew we should have gotten up for breakfast," Harry huffed.
"Are you two feeling alright?" Hermione finally asked.
"We're good Hermione, don't worry. It's not that bad at the moment. Malfoy is a git but we all knew this already, so nothing new."
"I think Seamus is planning a party for the next weekend. He said after the last one was such a flop we have to have another one," Ron said with a dirty grin at Pansy.
"Hey! Just because I invited you doesn't mean it was my fault!"
Harry decided this would be the right time to fade out their voices and get to eating. He had no idea how long they could just sit there with minimal body contact before the bond decided to make them pay for it.
Thirty minutes later they were on their way to the Slytherin dorm. Harry had the thought of bringing his toothbrush and pyjamas for the night as they didn't intend to leave again till the next morning. Hermione had already slipped them the first stack of notes and homework over lunch so that was what Draco and he intended to do until dinner.
At least mostly.
The second they had closed the door to Draco's dorm, Harry found himself shoved against the door and snogged senseless again.
His head hadn't yet started to hurt again, but he sure as hell wouldn't complain about any of this.
The bond felt like it'd settle a bit after this. As long as they snuck away for a quick snogging session once an hour they were feeling resolutely fine, and neither him nor Draco were complaining. Even though it was becoming harder and harder to pretend nothing had changed between them the longer they kissed.
By Thursday Hermione had shoved a parchment over the table in the library, asking him if there's something he wanted to tell her, something particular he wanted to talk about. But Harry only scribbled a quick 'No I'm fine' as an answer and shoved it back towards her with a smile.
Draco later told him that Pansy had done something similar during dinner.
Harry knew their friends were worried, usually they'd have every reason to be so. But to Harry's surprise there was absolutely no reason to worry.
Draco and him might spend a lot of time snogging, but they'd also used some time to talk. To be fair, that hadn't been easy, especially at night when their conversations got more earnest, deeper, darker, both of them wrapped into the soothing darkness and the knowledge that they couldn't really see each other.
They lay close, during the nights. Just being there for each other, listening to the other's stories, Harry felt closer to Malfoy. He felt like if there was one person who might be able to truly understand him, then it'd be Draco. Which was a strange new discovery he sometimes still struggled to deal with.
When things got too heavy to deal with they stopped and changed the topic. Sometimes both stayed quiet, trapped in their own thoughts before they eventually fell asleep.
Harry's heart still sped up every time Draco leaned in for a kiss. His every small gesture of affection made his heart beat in his throat and his pulse rush. It was so strange, and wonderful, and made no sense at all. But he ran with it, chasing the highs, and being there for the lows.
By the time Seamus' party started Saturday night, Harry was positive that even if the bond was somehow broken, he wouldn't leave Draco's side anymore. It felt new and exciting and he didn't want to miss a single second of it.
He knew this was a rather bold statement after only a week, but he couldn't help himself. Knowing he'd fall head over heels for Draco if the pair of them stayed much longer in each other's company wasn't as frightening as it had been before.
They were getting ready for the night and the only ones left in the Gryffindor dorm, both joking around while going through Harry's wardrobe, when Draco hugged him from behind and pressed a soft kiss onto his neck.
"Your clothes are horrible, we need to get you new stuff."
Suppressing the small shudder, Harry leaned back into Draco and chuckled. "Not everyone is a poncy git, you know? I wouldn't even know what to buy, I like my hoodies and jeans."
"Let's switch for the party. I'll wear your horrible stuff and you get to ruin my nice clothes. After that you'll see how much you want some high quality fashion for yourself."
"Deal, if only to see you in my Gryffindor jumper and joggers," Harry cackled. He'd survive a night in poncy clothes if he could see Draco wearing his stuff in return. "How about my Quidditch jumper? It has my name on it."
"If I must," Draco sighed, but Harry could hear something else in his tone.
Turning around Harry grinned as he saw Draco blushing. "You like the idea! Enjoy carrying my name, Malfoy? You know you can wear it without me having to wear your fancy stuff, right?"
"I'm not! And you're going to wear fancy stuff tonight!"
Harry watched amused as Draco pulled a crisp white shirt and expensive looking pressed trousers out of the bag he had brought along this morning before he returned to Harry's closet. He took a pair of joggers and the Quidditch jumper out for himself. "If you laugh at me I'll Accio the bow tie from my dorm for you! Get dressed."
"Of course my darling, whatever makes you happy," Harry chuckled again before he stripped out of his holey shirt and old joggers.
"At least we're wearing nearly the same size so I don't have to spell my clothes to fit you," Draco huffed. "It's not like it'd be necessary with the stuff you have."
Snorting, Harry closed the buttons of the shirt before he shoved it into his trousers and closed the leather belt that came with the entire outfit. It felt strange, like a second skin that wasn't his own. But to his surprise it was still rather comfy. Once he was done shrugging everything into the right place he turned to find Draco looking at him, already dressed and ready to leave.
And Harry's brain crashed.
Draco looked like a totally different person wearing his clothes. Softer. His hair was left a bit messy after he had slipped into the jumper, his hands buried in the pockets of Harry's favourite grey joggers. It was too much to handle. The pointy git looked so cute Harry couldn't stop himself from grinning and taking the few steps to him to pull him into a hug. "You should wear my clothes more often, they suit you."
"Wait till you see yourself in a mirror and thank me later," Draco croaked out and Harry let go, only to find him all but staring.
"You think this suits me?" Harry grinned. "I'm not sold yet. Let's see what the others say."
"Can't we just stay here and enjoy each other's appearance? You really should wear real clothes more often."
"Now you're exaggerating. Come on, the others are already waiting."
Holding his hand out for Draco to take, Harry watched him swallow before he took his hand so they could leave.
Once at the common room they both got greeted with loud wolf whistles and cheering. Everyone admired and commentated on their style which made Harry laugh and Draco blush and pull them over instantly to the table with the booze.
"You dressed him up! How lovely, I see what you see in him now," Pansy said loudly as she joined them there. "No offence Potter, I'm not interested, but I know a neat arse when I see one."
"It was you!" Harry all but screamed as he remembered his walk towards the Quidditch pitch. "You catcalled me! That's exactly the words Ginny used when I asked her who it was!"
"So? I honestly did that mostly to embarrass Draco."
"I think that's enough chit-chat for the two of you until I'm drunk enough to ignore you," Draco chimed in but Harry ignored him.
"Embarrass Draco? How that? I didn't even see him there."
"I said enough! Here," filling a cup with whisky he shoved it into Harry's hand, "drink. Or we'll leave again."
Rolling his eyes, Harry took a sip of the whisky and winked at Pansy who laughed and shook her head. "You two are ridiculous. I'll go and see if Ginny and Luna are somewhere here."
"You know there will be party games later, right?" Harry whispered into Draco's ear as they moved through the room. "We should leave after the drinking games stop but before the embarrassing ones start."
"That's a good plan, just tell me when. We have the best excuse after all."
The room was crammed, and as they finally spotted Blaise and Hermione on one of the sofas Harry squeezed himself into the empty spot next to them before he pulled Draco onto his lap.
"You both look very good tonight." Hermione smiled as she held up her cup in a toast.
"Thanks. It was Draco's idea to switch clothes. He's not a fan of my wardrobe and wants me to get used to his designer stuff."
"Oh was it?" Blaise asked with a laugh and Draco punched his shoulder.
"I need more booze for this."
"Good thing we have a stack here already," Blaise said as he pointed down next to the sofa to reveal a full bottle of amber coloured liquid.
"What's that?" Draco asked skeptically.
"No idea, but it tastes nice."
Shrugging, Draco filled up his empty cup and took a sip, obviously pleased with the taste of it.
It wasn't long after that when the first drinking game started. Of course it had to be never have I ever, as Harry should've known it would be. That one had never failed to get them all drunk and giggly for the night, and that's obviously what Seamus and Dean wanted. They were both desperate to show their guests how a party should look like after the first failed one.
The first few rounds were ridiculous at best, things they all had done during their times at Hogwarts, and only there to get them a good start until everything went a bit over board with stupid things like 'Never have I ever flailed over Lockhart' which made more guys drink than Harry had expected. But it also gave him and Ron the opportunity to laugh at Hermione who drowned her drink in one swallow and went for a refill with a dirty look towards Dean who had asked the question.
The question that ended the game was the most horrible experience Harry believed that he'd ever had to suffer through. "Never have I ever wanked while thinking of Harry Potter!" With a shocked squeal he squeezed his eyes shut, not wanting whatsoever to know who had done that. But when he felt Draco chuckle and lift his arm to drink his mind suddenly wandered into a completely different direction.
After this, everyone was too giggly to pay attention to any games and they went back to chatting and whatever Luna, Ginny and Pansy were doing at the other side of the room, Harry didn't want to know. Instead he returned his attention towards Draco and the rather important thing he just learned.
Slipping his hand under Draco's jumper he pulled him back onto his lap and grinned as he brushed his mouth against his ear. He felt Draco shudder into the touch. "So you did what again? Care to elaborate this?" Harry whispered amused.
"I did many things, which of those are you talking about?"
"The part with the wanking."
"Should I tell you who else drank?" Draco asked innocently.
"Absolutely not."
"Thought so."
"Anything else I should know about you?"
"Plenty," Draco laughed before he got quiet. "But let's start with a confession. Claire, the girl you played Quidditch against at the beginning of the year, was actually me Polyjuiced into a distant cousin of mine. I couldn't show myself down there, or anywhere really. So I tried to blend in as well as I could."
"I knew a first year couldn't be that good!"
"You're not mad at me for it? Or think I'm crazy?"
"Wha—? Why should I? You had to do what you had to do to stay safe. Maybe we can play against each other again after this bond settled?"
"I think I'd like that," Draco smiled as he leaned back into Harry
They spent a few minutes in silence where Harry let his fingers wander over Draco's soft skin under his touch. Watching the others get along so well was something, especially with Draco in his lap. Draco who carried his name on his back. The thought made Harry smile again.
"Do you want to keep my jumper?" Harry whispered again.
"Yes."
"Want us to sneak away and go to bed?"
"Absolutely."
Chuckling, Harry looked around and only found Blaise watching them. He sent him a wink which made him grin before he shoved Draco from his lap so they could stumble back to the dorm.
Just to find it locked.
"Ugh, what now? This might take a while."
Rolling his eyes, Draco looked towards the common room before looking back at Harry. "Let's go to the dungeon then. I'm not waiting for them to finish whatever they're doing so we can go to bed. And like this I can enjoy the view of you in nice clothes a bit longer."
Laughing, Harry shook his head before he took Draco's hand and led him downstairs and out of the portrait hole.
The hallways were empty, curfew long over, and Harry felt all excited once again. They wouldn't be in a lot of trouble per se, but getting caught out of bed, drunk, and bonded, wasn't exactly a good impression to make on anybody.
"Let's take a few shortcuts and hope for the best," Harry whispered as he pulled Draco behind a tapestry that hid a passageway.
"Do you know all the secret passages? Is that how you always got away with everything?"
"Something like that, yes."
Snorting, Draco took a few steps forward before he stumbled over the edge of a carpet and nearly landed on his face, pulling Harry with him on his way down.
The both somehow managed to catch themselves before they got hurt and after a second they laughed out loud.
"You need to work on your sneaking skills, Draco."
"I need to get sober is what I need. And you need to get out of my clothes before you ruin them beyond repair."
"That's a rather strange way to get me naked," Harry giggled which earned him an elbow in his ribs before they both got up again.
"I don't need a scheme to get you out of your clothes," Draco said pointedly as he pulled Harry along, this time much more careful to not stumble again.
"You don't?"
"Having you in nice clothes is just a bonus for me," Draco grinned. "You're such delicious eye candy all dressed up."
"And you're absolutely adorable in my oversized stuff."
Noticing the blush on Draco's face Harry couldn't resist to pull him in for a quick kiss. Especially in his drunk state everything was nearly too much to handle.
"Let's hurry and go to bed," Draco mumbled against his lips.
Smiling Harry broke away and led them further down the passage.
Once they finally made it to the dungeons and Draco's dorm Harry made a big show of getting out of his clothes and hanging them over a chair all neat and tidy before he joined Draco in bed who only laughed at him and gave him a kiss before he closed the curtains.
Everything around him was spinning, but Draco's weight on his chest grounded him and made him fall asleep within ten minutes.
The next morning he had a rather rough awakening. Not only was he hungover as shit, but instead of a nice long lie in with Draco, he got roughly woken up by Blaise shaking them awake.
"Wake up love bugs, Pomfrey wants to see you at the Hospital Wing."
Groaning, Harry tried to slap his hand away but Blaise only chuckled and threw something heavy next to him on the pillow.
"Hangover potion. Get up before she comes to get you."
Grabbing the vial, Harry downed it and hoped that Blaise wouldn't try poisoning him in a weak moment.
Five minutes later he felt a lot better and he was nearly fully dressed when Draco finally emerged from the bed.
"Your joggers and my shirt? Isn't that a bit crass?" Draco yawned.
"Good morning to you too. I said you can keep my jumper. And there's no chance in hell you'll get me to wear trousers like yours on a Sunday."
"Fine. Give me that ridiculous jumper and my trousers then. Let's walk to the hospital wing like heathens, smelling like old booze and looking ridiculous."
Grinning, Harry threw the jumper at Draco's head before he passed him the trousers. Together they made their way to the Hospital Wing.
"—managed to figure out what bond it was. It'll be easy to lift it now that we know what we're dealing with. There shouldn't be any lingering after effects and the two of you should be able to visit your classes again tomorrow."
Harry and Draco sat there listening to McGonagall while Madam Pomfrey stood behind her smiling reassuringly. Neither of them knew what to say to this.
Fear was clawing at Harry. Fear that he'd lose Draco now, that the other wizard would leave the second their bond vanished. Panic spread through his body. He thought that they had something, or at least the base of something. And he didn't know what he'd do if those feelings changed once the bond was gone.
Of course Harry knew that this couldn't go on forever, but since nobody had known what it was Malfoy and he had thought they'd have some more time. But obviously not.
"Can we have a minute before you do what's necessary? I'd like to have a few words with Harry first."
Harry's head snapped up at Draco's words and he looked first at him then at McGonagall just to see her smile and nod at them.
Draco got up and pulled Harry out of the door into the empty hallway where he instantly pulled him into a hug.
"You know this doesn't have to change if you don't want it to," Draco mumbled in Harry's neck and Harry closed his arms around him.
"Do you? Want to change anything, I mean," Harry asked quietly. "We don't know how much of this is the bond and how much is ours."
Shaking his head, Draco let go to look him in the eyes. "The bond only forced us to stay together. What we're feeling is entirely ours, it won't go away once the bond is gone."
"Are you sure?"
"Yes."
And by the way Draco smiled at him, Harry knew he was. Harry knew this wouldn't end here and now if he didn't want it to. A weight dropped from his heart and Harry smiled back at him. "Then we won't change anything."
"Really? You really mean that?"
Harry laughed and pulled Draco in for a kiss, their last one with this ridiculous wonderful bond in place. "I'll keep falling for you, Draco Malfoy. We don't have to wait for France for this to happen."
"But we can still go there, right?"
"Right after we finish Hogwarts. But not before I kick your arse in Quidditch a few more times."
"You need new Quidditch trousers. Yours gave you an unfair benefit."
"Was that one your wank fantasy? Because if so, I'll keep them."
"Wouldn't you like to know Potter."
Laughing, Harry pulled Draco back into the Hospital Wing.
Epilogue: Somewhere in May
The hot water splashing onto Harry's back worked wonders to ease his sore muscles after a particularly long and nasty game of Quidditch.
His team had won, of course, but it was close this time. Draco had nearly got to the snitch first. It was sheer luck that Harry had made it before him.
Or maybe it wasn't, he thought, as grinned up at Draco who was entirely lost in bliss already.
Maybe, just maybe, the blowjob the sore loser would receive as a small gesture of solace was the true thing he had been after all the time.