The Golden Snitch

Doing Nothing

'We need to talk, Draco,' Harry said. He was still holding Draco's hand as the dance floor flooded with students. He pulled him towards the Great Hall's door and they escaped the noise of the live music.

Draco nodded but didn't reply and Harry could see he was absolutely shattered. Still holding his hand, Harry gently steered him back towards their common room. But Draco stopped him and pulled him down to sit on one of the stairs.

'You should be there to the end, Harry. You're the honoured guest...'

'They won't miss me. They're all having too much fun.'

'What did you do with the medal?'

'It's in my pocket, I think Ned is curled up around it.'

'You deserve it.'

'To quote Ron, it's bloody bonkers.'

Draco smiled, 'Harry, we haven't had a chance to talk about earlier, on the tower. I haven't said thank you.'

Harry looked at Draco, 'you don't need to thank me.'

'I do though, you always seem to end up being there for me.'

'Because I want to be.' He paused. 'Are you OK about this?'

'This?'

'Me, us?'

'We need to establish what "us" is.'

'Well, at the moment I'm still holding your hand.'

'Harry, if I didn't want to hold your hand-'

'What about if I wanted to take things further, if I kissed you again?'

'What about it?'

'Would you be OK about it?'

'Harry, do you understand why I pushed you away, when we were on the island?'

'I guess so, it took me a while. Hermione told me, of course, but I didn't understand straight away. And by the time I did, well, I thought it was too late. When you overheard me with Ron, it wasn't that I couldn't entertain liking you, it was because I did and I thought, deep down, that if I followed my feelings for you I would end up broken-hearted because I believed that you reciprocating my love wasn't in your life story-'

'Harry-'

'Shhh! I haven't finished what I want, what I need to say.' Harry was tracing small patterns on the back of Draco's hand. 'You know, when we were stood there, so close together, on the island, all I saw was my perspective. I could feel your breath on my face, I could see so much detail in your eyes, I could smell the subtleties of your aftershave. I so wanted to kiss you. I hated myself, all my promises were undone, your teasings about my intentions were too close for comfort, so I buried what I was feeling. All I wanted was to pull you against me, to tell you what I was feeling, but instead I did nothing. I stubbornly suppressed what I was feeling because friendship with you was better than nothing, and oh Merlin, I can attest to that after the past few weeks. So, there on the island, I thought that if I'd kissed you - you would hate me, so I didn't act ... and you hated me anyway.'

'I didn't hate you, Harry. I don't think I've ever hated you, ever, if the truth be told. That moment on the island, that moment was when everything became clear. In an instant I knew for certain I was in love with you, that I wanted more than friendship, I wanted you to kiss me more than I've ever wanted anything in this world. It felt like the perfect moment but I was too scared to make the first move myself. When you didn't, I thought my feelings were unrequited. I felt my only option was to protect myself again. I tried to protect myself from the pain.' Draco's voice faded.

Harry nudged the blond man sitting next to him gently with his arm. 'We're bloody fools!'

He stood up and held his hand out to Draco, who took it and stood up too so they were both facing each other. Harry reached up and brushed Draco's cheek with the back of finger. 'But you're my bloody fool.' He leant forwards and, for a second time that day, he softly kissed Draco. This time their lips lingered against each other and Harry saw Draco's eyelids flicker shut so he kissed him more firmly, his hand slipping around to the nape of Draco's neck to hold him close.

When they pulled apart, both men smirked at each other.

'After all this time, Harry.'

'I know, after all this time.'

Harry leaned forward again, pulling Draco back towards him and the kiss was more fervent as seven years of petty rivalries and arguments collided with several months of tender friendship laced with tentative yearnings for each other. And when he parted his lips slightly and ran his tongue along Draco's lower lip, the blond man acquiesced so that Harry could deepen the kiss. And when Draco nipped Harry's lip-ring with his lips, tugging it gently, he moaned lightly against Harry's mouth and mumbled into the kiss, 'oh! That bloody piercing...'

Harry pulled away, unsure of Draco's meaning and his natural reaction was to worry the lip-ring with his tongue as he tugged on it with his teeth. But as he watched Draco staring at his lip with wanton desire, Harry grinned and took his hand to lead Draco back to the year-eight common room.

'Less of that,' he muttered. 'You need to be resting.'

'Can I stay with you? I just, you know ... will you hold me again?'

'Of course.'

Draco nodded, 'thank you.'

There was a comfortable silence between the two men as they climbed the stairs.

When they reached his bedroom door, Harry turned to Draco and said, 'Draco? About Christmas...'

*****