The Bet
Chapter VI - You Needed Me, and the Unknown Safety I Have in You
Harry/Draco, Harry/OMC, Harry/OFC, Draco/OFC, Seamus/Ginny, Ron/Hermione, Neville/Luna
R/NC-17 | 4,386 words | 2004-present
Beta: Eva
Summary:AU. Post-war. It all started with a little bet. Draco Malfoy has never been one to back down from a perfectly do-able bet. But when that bet involves Harry Potter? Draco is realising that this bet is not as cut and dry as it seems, nor as easy...
Notes: Written before HBP and DH.
***
22 September 2003
Now that I've had time to sleep on it...I've realised
a few things.
One: Although she can be entirely too aggravating
for words, I love Raven so much it hurts sometimes.
Two: Getting Potter to fuck me is almost easier
than dealing with this woman. But it's too painful to think
of losing her. She's been my only lifeline for too long now.
Three: If I ever have to wake up without her in
my bed again, I think I'll go insane.
Yup. She slept over last night. Not that anything
happened, much to my dismay, other than snogging and a little petting.
She's not ready yet, she says. Which I secretly think is a bunch of
bollocks.
But at the same time, I understand why she doesn't
just want to hop in the sack either. We have the entire world to explore,
and there's no reason to rush it. And she's right; we have
gotten a second chance at life. I can't imagine being where Goyle
is right now...in Azkaban. It's unthinkable.
So...we're going to have some fun. Which is where
our inherent Slytherin sides come in. Her mischievousness is amazing.
I'd say she could be so much worse than I ever was. And I think it's
just because she lets her basic carnal desires steer her path, while
I've always relied on my hatred for things, which, at least in the
past, I thought was what made me happy. Seeing others suffer.
But, of course, it didn't. Not for long, in any
case. At least I'll be getting some kind of pleasure out of this.
I'm scared to think that Potter will be the one to give it to me.
Especially considering that I haven't had sex in...much too long.
Waiting for the right moment with Raven has been...while not extremely
frustrating, altogether tiring. I'm not sure my libido can take much
more teasing.
Raven keeps mentioning that there's something
about Potter that I'm not seeing, or I've begun to, but I haven't
realised it yet. Sometimes I worry about that girl's sanity. But I'll
watch. I'll watch him, figure him out, then take what I need. Then
Raven will be mine.
Of course, all those delusions aside, I know it
won't be that simple. I'm beginning to feel like Potter's only part
of the picture. But although it seems like he's the focus of this
whole...situation, I get the feeling he's not. There really
is no focus. Just a bunch of confusion.
Not that I'm confused about how I feel about Raven,
of course. I love her, without a doubt. But I am confused about
Potter. Half of me, the old me, the one that's screaming for normalcy,
is telling me that nothing's changed, that I still hate him. But I
know I don't. I haven't for a while, I realise. Do I find him annoying?
Yes. But hate? No...not really. I'm not sure when it changed. And
I suppose I honestly don't care.
There's another factor to this whole thing. Do
I find him attractive? At first, I thought no. Even after all of Raven's
talk on Thursday. But then when I saw him in only his shirt and knickers
the other night...I must say, while he may not be good-looking in
the same way that I am, he certainly grew into some kind of attractive
bloke at some point I never realised. I missed it somehow.
I really don't consider myself gay or bi or whatever,
but I know beauty when I see it. And while Potter certainly doesn't
have the same kind of beauty as Raven, I have noticed over
the past few days that he has...something. Whatever it is,
I have yet to figure out.
Oh. Raven's waking up. Merlin, she's gorgeous.
Dark silky hair, pale skin, bright green eyes... Hey...maybe that's
what it is. That's what I find attractive about Potter. I've never
noticed how much they look alike. Interesting...I've always placed
them in such different places in my mind. Well, besides the fact that
they're different genders, and their personalities are totally different.
Hmm...I'll have to muse about this more later. Raven's calling.
***
"Dray?" Raven said in a yawn, rubbing the sleepiness
out of her eyes.
"I'm here, love," Draco said as he crawled back into
bed, getting back under the covers and wrapping his arms around the
girl, revelling in the feeling of skin-on-skin.
"What were you doing?"
"Just writing."
"In that journal for me?"
"No, actually. In another one. One that I have more
control over what's written."
"Oh. I see." She snuggled into his embrace and tucked
her head under his chin. "What were you writing about, if I may ask?"
"About you. About Potter. The usual."
"The usual, huh?"
"Yeah. About how I feel about you, and how bloody
difficult you are," she giggled at this, and he placed a kiss in her
hair. "And about how I'm going to deal with Potter..." he trailed
off for a moment before finishing: "About how I've been beginning
to think that he's attractive."
"Oh, really?"
"Yes." He was glad she couldn't see his blush. Malfoys
didn't blush after all. Blast his father's ability to still have an
ingrained control in Draco's life.
"Well, I'm glad you're finally coming to your senses,"
Raven replied.
"Hey!"
"What? It's true."
"But still." They lay there a moment longer, and
then Raven finally moved, pulling away and sitting up, keeping the
blanket with her to cover her naked torso.
"Well, I should probably get going. I've got to go
get my school stuff for today. And eat."
"Aww..." Draco pouted.
"Oh, Dray. Honestly, you've become much too melodramatic.
What happened to that hardened Slytherin bad-ass that I fell in love
with, eh?"
"Oh, he's in here somewhere. Just waiting for the
opportune moment..."
A roll of eyes. "Right..." Raven leaned down and
gave Draco a sensuous kiss on the lips, stealing his breath for a
moment. "I've got to go, love. See you in class." Then she slipped
out of the bed and quickly dressed in her sweater and skirt, slipping
on her clogs and grabbing her bra. Draco watched in avid interest
as Raven's long hair flowed around her like silk, accenting off her
fair skin. He was very much remembering the feel of that skin from
the night (and minutes) before.
Raven turning around and waving from the open doorway
brought Draco back to reality from his rather arousing thoughts. "Bye
Dray."
"Bye." And she was gone. And Draco was left with
an erection to deal with. The morning erection heightened not only
by the sight and thoughts of Raven, but by the thoughts of Potter
as well. "Damn." So he got back out of bed, grabbed a towel, and went
into the bathroom he shared with Blaise, Theo, and Graham. The Slytherin/Ravenclaw
boys' dorm decided to divide the bathrooms by house, since there were
an odd number of boys.
Thanking his strange new ability to wake up rather
early, he slipped into the bathroom and locked the door. Turning on
the water and letting it arrive at 'the perfect' temperature, he shucked
off his boxers before stepping into the hot stream of water. Sighing
at the heat as it hit his shoulders and back, he stood for a minute,
relaxing in the thought that he would probably be stealing all of
the hot water for the morning.
Grinning slightly, he grabbed the soap and started
washing all over, trying to avoid the erection that he knew would
need dealing with soon. Not that he was privy to denying himself the
pleasure, it was just...well, to be honest with himself, he would
have to admit that he was a feeling a little trepidation at the idea
that Potter had helped create it. Did he want to think about
Potter while wanking? The old part of him was screaming 'no!', but
the other part...the part he had reason to suspect was his carnal
and natural instincts that only being around Raven could spark into
life...that part was saying, 'why the hell not? Might as well
get used to the idea...and it's not like it'd be doing any harm...'
So that was how Draco found himself bracing an arm
against the cool shower tiles, panting harshly, becoming physically
sated from the forbidden thoughts of Raven and Potter flashing through
his mind. There were no specifics, just flashes of memory and imagination...the
feel of skin and hair and lips, the sounds of their voices, the desire
to touch and feel and explore...it didn't matter with who, in fact,
it could have been both at the same time, as long as it was him--Draco--doing
the exploring.
Once he was finally back in his room, a secretive
grin on his face, he thought, That has to be the best shower I
have ever had.
***
Raven was quite content to sit dazedly through another
History of Magic class when her daze was broken by a folded bit of
parchment landing on her desk about halfway through. Lifting her head
from her hand, she looked around quickly for who sent it to her. But
finding no one looking in her direction, she quickly flicked the parchment
open, being careful not to alert the teacher, who was, by no means,
anything like oblivious Professor Binns back at Hogwarts. Although
the subject was still boring as all hell.
The note read:
Raven,
Will you please meet me after class next to the
portrait of Gwendel the Garish?
Neville Longbottom
Shooting a look at the boy a few seats to her right
she caught him looking at her expectantly. Wondering what on earth
the older ex-Gryffindor could have to say to her, but keeping it off
her face, she nodded slightly. Raven knew that Neville couldn't be
asking her for a date or any such thing; everyone knew that he was
dating Luna, the still wide-eyed and kooky ex-Ravenclaw that served
as her dorm representative. Maybe it has something to do with Harry...after
all, they do live together...
And when she met Neville just after class near the
aforementioned portrait, she found her latter suspicions to be correct.
"Are you dating Malfoy?" the usually shy boy blurted
out, before Raven could even ask what he wanted.
Raven was immediately defensive. "Why do you want
to know? What's it matter to you?"
"I...er...I was just wondering, because...I heard
that you were, but-but I saw you with Harry yesterday, and I was..."
The stuttering boy finally found his voice. "And I was making sure
that you weren't just playing with Harry's feelings." His eyes got
a slightly protective gleam in them that Raven found endearing, but
didn't show it.
So she raised an arrogant eyebrow instead. "Not that
what I do with Harry or Draco is any of your business,
Longbottom, but no. Draco and I have an open relationship. Harry is
currently just a friend."
"Open relationship? What does that mean?" Neville,
thankfully, completely missed Raven's insinuation involving Harry
and the word 'currently,' in favour of being confused over her other
statement.
"What do you think it means, Longbottom?" she spat.
"Er...that you're...both free to date other people?"
he said tentatively. He was starting to re-consider his earlier thoughts
of her congeniality level.
Raven touched her nose. "Got it in one, Longbottom.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have a potions class to attend." And with
that, she swept past him and into the next corridor. Hmm...I wonder
if that was Harry's concern too...she wondered worriedly.
***
"Draco," Raven whispered as she plopped down between
him and Blaise a few minutes later. "You're not going to believe what
just happened."
"Ooh, what happened?" said Blaise excitedly from
her other side, before Draco could respond.
Raven turned around in exasperation. "Blaise, it's
not polite to eavesdrop on other people's conversations."
"When has politeness ever been a part of the
Slytherin Code, Raven?" Draco drawled.
"Not the point, Dray. Now Blaise, if you could
just turn your ears off for a few minutes..."
Blaise sat back, folding his arms over his chest
and pouting. "Oh, fine, you evil, evil witch."
Raven smiled. "Is that really what you think of me
Blaise?"
"Wha-" he said in confusion.
"She's saying, 'thanks for the compliment,' Zabini."
"But I wasn't-"
"Doesn't matter. Ears closed." Draco said snappishly.
Blaise complied, pointing his wand at his head and muttering a quiet
incantation. Satisfied that Blaise was indeed deaf for a few minutes,
Raven turned back to Draco and started whispering feverously.
"Longbottom came to me just before class."
Draco made a non-committal grunt in the back of his
throat.
"And he asked me if I was dating you. He says he
saw me with Harry yesterday and wanted to make sure I wasn't 'playing
with Harry's feelings.'"
"Okay...so, why are you telling me this?"
"Draco! Merlin," she shook her head in exasperation.
"Because, there's a possibility that Neville was actually relaying
Harry's feelings in the matter. So. You need to assess that,
and make sure he doesn't feel like he's being played. It'll only hinder
your progress with him."
"Oh. So you think Potter might feel all insecure
about the situation?"
"Precisely. I probably would too, if suddenly my
old school rival and his girlfriend started getting rather up-close-and-personal."
"So what did you tell Longbottom? About us?"
"I said we had an open relationship."
"Open, eh?"
"Yes. Does that offend you?"
Draco smirked. "No, actually. I mean, that's what
we have at the moment."
Raven nodded. "So...you think you'll still be able
to work with Potter?"
Draco grinned in a Cheshire way. "Oh, yes. I think
it'll work perfectly with what I have planned for tonight."
***
Now, Draco wasn't exactly lying when he told
Raven that Harry's possible insecurities would work with what he had
had planned for that night, but to be honest, this wasn't going to
be any different than the last time, except he wasn't hovering just
outside Potter's window. This time, he was throwing pebbles to wake
the other boy.
Just as Draco threw what must have been the tenth
pebble, the window opened, (Finally! It's bloody freezing out here
tonight...) and Harry appeared, getting said pebble right in the
forehead.
"Ow!"
"Sorry, Potter!"
"Malfoy...what are you doing?" the Gryffindor asked
in a weary sort of way, rubbing at the sore on his forehead.
"Well, I thought that throwing rocks to wake you
up would be better, seeing as I scared you scarless last time."
Harry frowned at the 'scar' comment. "That wasn't
what I meant. Why are you waking me up? Don't tell me you want another
walk?"
"Yes, Potter, that's exactly what I want."
"And if I refuse? Tonight's a school night. I can't
be spending the night traipsing about the forest with you."
"And why not? Look, Potter, would you rather I come
inside and wake everyone else with our conversation?"
"Assuming I'm privy to a conversation with you at
this un-godly hour..."
"Excuse me?"
"Nothing." Harry stood there for a moment in contemplation.
"Okay, fine. But I'm coming down through the back door. I can be quiet
enough. Last time, we left the window open and my room was freezing
when I got back."
"Fair enough." So Draco waited, wishing that he had
at least brought his heavy cloak, but he hadn't wanted it to get ruined
in the woods, so he was stuck wearing an outfit identical to the one
he had worn Saturday night.
Potter came out a minute later, fully dressed and
wearing what looked like a heavy muggle jacket. Leave it to Potter
to still be more comfortable in muggle clothing, Draco thought wryly.
"Don't have a winter cloak, Potter?" he asked the dark-haired boy.
"No, I do. But I figured that we'd probably be going
into the woods, and I didn't want it to get ruined." Draco raised
an appraising eyebrow at the Gryffindor.
"Well, it seems as though we think alike, Potter."
"I suppose, but I'm not particularly fond of freezing,
unlike you, so I wore a jacket." Then Harry fished a few items out
of his jacket pocket and offered them to Draco. "Here."
"What's this?" Draco asked, trying to make out the
items in the moonlight.
"Some gloves. I thought you might be rather cold
in only a sweater and pants. And here," Harry took out another item,
stepping forward to wrap it around Draco's neck a few times. "A scarf."
Draco was brought out of his musings of the rather
intimate gesture when he actually looked at the scarf around his neck.
He frowned. "But it's a Gryffindor scarf," he nearly whined.
"Well, what do you expect? It's the only scarf I
have."
Draco immediately started unwrapping it, handing
it back to Harry. "I don't think so, Potter. Not even for the sake
of keeping warm, will I wear Gryffindor colours."
Harry snorted, wrapping the scarf around his own
neck as Draco put on the gloves. "Have it your way, then." And the
two set off down the now familiar path through the woods and to the
cove.
Once they arrived, Harry said, "We're early. Do you
want to go down to the sand?"
"Er...sure. But how? That's a forty-yard drop. I'm
not sure I could levitate us down that far."
"Well, seeing as I'm not particularly fond of levitating,
it's a good thing there's a path. I noticed it when Raven brought
me here yesterday."
"Raven? I didn't know she knew about this place."
"Yeah, I didn't either. It looks totally different
in the daytime, too. But it's still amazing. I don't think Raven's
ever seen it at night, though."
"Oh. Well...shall we?" Draco gestured forward.
"Sure." And Harry led the way to the rocky path that
wound around the inside of the cliff wall, leading down to the white
sand below. "Watch your step, it's really narrow."
"I can see that, Potter." Draco said through slightly
clenched teeth, and was stunned when Harry turned slightly, holding
a hand out to him. He took it warily, realising that the Gryffindor's
inherent spontaneity was shifting the control of the situation away
from Draco. Draco hadn't planned on being down in the sand that night,
or holding hands with the messy-haired young man so soon, but it seemed
to be working better than Draco would have thought.
"So..." Draco started as they crept down the path,
"does Raven know that we've come here? I think she mentioned something
about it to me yesterday, but I wasn't paying too much attention."
"Yeah, she knows. But I didn't tell her what happens
at night, though. And what do you mean, that you weren't paying attention?
Do you normally ignore the women you're in love with?"
"What? No, of course not. It's just...I was a little
preoccupied at the moment."
"With what?"
"Merlin, Potter, aren't you a curious little bunny
tonight."
"It's all part and parcel of the whole Gryffindor
gig. You should know that by now."
"Yeah, well..."
The boys arrived on the sand, and Harry let go of
Draco's hand, leading them to the centre, where he sat down and braced
himself against a rock. Draco sat next to him, taking a breath to
continue. "The thing I was preoccupied with was you, Potter."
"Me?"
"Yes. You and Raven. Nott said that he saw you two
holding hands yesterday, and well, to be quite honest, I was a little
pissed off about it."
"I...I'm sorry, Malfoy. I didn't mean to cut in on
your territory. It's not like...I like her that way or anything..."
But Draco waved him off. "It's alright, Potter. We
worked it out." They sat for a moment in the dark, waiting for the
moon to catch up with them.
"Malfoy..."
"Yeah?"
"How do you feel about Raven's feelings for
me? She told me you love her. Doesn't it bother you that she likes
someone else as well?"
Draco sighed. "I do love her, Potter. I do. And yes,
it bothers me. But...I'm...okay with it, I guess. Raven's an enigma...there's
a lot about her that even I don't understand, although we've
hardly been separated since the war."
"What do you mean?"
"Did you know that she's a painter, Potter?"
"Yes, actually. I saw a painting she did of the cove
in her foyer yesterday."
"Really? I don't remember seeing it...although I
was rather irate at the time, so... But anyway, what I'm getting at
is that she really only got into art while we were in sanctuary. It's
one thing I haven't been a part of in her life since the war. And
so...there's a lot I haven't had the chance to understand about her."
"Oh?"
"Yes. She...we...all of us, were...rather messed
up, Potter. And that's putting it mildly. If it wasn't the incessant
itching of our dark marks that was driving us mad, it was the thoughts
of what we had done that was plaguing us. And we were stuck, unable
to escape, even from ourselves. Dumbledore forbade us to leave the
hospital wing. We had been practically brainwashed, and while I was
dealing with and recovering from the unimaginable amount of shit my
father cursed me with, Raven was trying to recover from her guilt
and the loss of her parents."
"Her parents?"
"Yes. They're not dead or anything, but they were
never supporters of the dark arts. They nearly disowned her when she
took the dark mark. Although she's come to realise that they're just
happy she came to her senses, there's still a lot of bad blood between
them." Draco took a deep breath.
"You may not realise this Potter, but Raven, Blaise
and I weren't just living it up in the infirmary while you were out
there risking your life. Like I said before, we had all been brainwashed
in a way, and the kind of attention we needed, not only physically,
but emotionally and psychologically was intermittent at best. Everyone
was so busy just trying to stay alive and helping those that were
fighting, that no one had the time for three recovering Death Eaters."
He paused. "We're all messed up. Still are. While Blaise slowly became
more introverted, which later changed, Raven started writing and drawing
to keep herself from insanity. And I guess...that's why things never
changed between us, Potter. With you, I could find sanity...the normalcy
I had had before I became a Death Eater. And that's why this conversation
hasn't happened earlier. I was scared of too much change."
Both boys were silent for a long moment, while they
both contemplated Draco's revelations. Meanwhile, the moonlight finally
enveloped the cove and the Dancing of the Lights started. Both boys
looked up at the show, silent like the first time, until Draco heard
a shuddery sigh escape Potter's lips. He looked over to see a few
tears trailing their way down the boy's cheeks.
Draco took off his gloves and took a hold of Harry's
hand in a comforting gesture. Harry looked down at the contact, a
startled look on his face. Draco took the chance of speaking, and
said in a whisper, "Potter, what's wrong?"
Harry gulped hard. "I just...I can't believe that
the one person who's ever needed me, not just to kill Voldemort, or
be their bloody saviour of the world...the one person who needed me
to just keep being me, was...you." His breath hitched slightly, and
Draco was suddenly drawn to the other boy, pulling him into a hug
so fierce, that he surprised even himself.
Harry nearly collapsed against him, gripping Draco's
hand hard, letting the tears leak out of his eyes as he squeezed them
tightly shut. Although it was cold, and the hot liquid was burning
Harry's cheeks, he paid it no mind. He was more concerned with what
the Adonis holding him was thinking. Would he think he was a ponce
for crying? Would he laugh and mock him? For some reason Harry didn't
think so. He felt hot breath on the back of his neck, where the scarf
failed to cover up, and he heard soothing, incoherent whispers. Even
after his tears stopped, he sat there, letting his breath become steadier,
his cheek pressed against the wool of Draco's sweater, and his hand
gripped tightly by the other boy. He couldn't believe that he just
broke down, yet again, in front of Malfoy. Pushing himself
away, he released Draco's hand and fished in his pocket for a cloth
to wipe his tear-spotted lenses with.
"Potter...Harry...are you alright?"
Harry smiled slightly. "I'm better, thank you. Sorry
if I messed up your jumper."
"That's not important."
Harry finally looked at Malfoy. There was no look
of disgust, or even pity on the ex-Slytherin's face. In fact, there
was a small furrow in his brow, signalling that he was slightly worried
about his companion. "Malfoy, I...Draco. Are you really willing to
give up what sanity you've managed to keep by changing our relationship?"
Draco stared for a minute before he said, "I think
I'll be alright, Potter. I've managed to deal with it. I think...I've
been ready to finally let it be for a while now. It's...scary, I'm
rather afraid to admit, that changing our relationship means getting
rid of my so-called 'security blanket,' but...I'm game, if you are."
Harry smiled. "I'm game."
"Good."
They sat there for a few more moments, looking up
at the sparkling lights above them, before Draco shivered. "I just
realised how cold I am."
Harry shook his head, making an executive decision
and un-wrapping the scarf from his own neck, shifting to kneel in
front of Draco and wrap it around his. Draco started to protest, but
Harry cut him off. "Don't be such an arse, Malfoy. It's the middle
of the night, and we're in the middle of the woods. No one's going
to see you." Draco muttered something unintelligible, but begrudgingly
let Harry have his way.
Harry stood, holding out his hand to help Draco up.
"C'mon. We should head back." Draco nodded and took Harry's hand,
shoving the gloves he'd been given in his pocket.
Silently, they made their way back up the cliff wall
and through the woods, never letting go of the other's hand.
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