Harry looked back at Uncle Vernon still seething in the car park and hurried to catch up to Draco to find some trolleys.

Harry couldn't catch his breath. With Draco in front and Uncle Vernon behind him, he couldn't help but feel that he was entering into new and unmarked territory. He felt very free in that instant. And not a little scared. But Draco had made all those plans for when they left Hogwarts, plans Harry never dared dream before with the threat of Voldemort hanging over his head. How could he even begin to imagine what life could be like without that threat? And here was Draco in love with him. Hell, he even wanted to marry him! Stupid, awkward, Harry Potter, who's only moments of grace were on a broomstick. Or were they? He felt pretty elegant being shagged by Draco. They seemed to move so well together. Maybe it was Draco. Now he was graceful. Harry loved watching him do just about anything: shower, undress, wank...small repertoire to be sure, but it still proved Draco was more graceful.

"Hurry it up, Potter. That slag uncle of yours made us late."

Harry gripped the trolly's handle and ran. They got to the wall between platforms nine and ten and hurtled through. Harry could breathe again once safe on Platform 9 ¾. He was home. In the Wizarding world. Safe. At least it felt that way.

They left their luggage with the porter and he and Draco grabbed their owl cages and walked along the train. Neither spoke. They hadn't discussed what they would do once on the train but now it was looming up in Harry's mind. Would Draco split off and leave him. He really wanted to sit with Draco all the way to Hogwarts. Maybe hold his hand. Maybe snog if no one was in their compartment. But it wasn't likely they would be alone.

They boarded and Draco searched for an empty compartment. He poked his head into one and found a small first year. The tiny wizard looked up at Draco.

Draco sneered. "Get out!"

It was all the boy needed. He was up and out the door before Harry could say a word. Draco set his owl cage on the seat beside him and motioned for Harry to come in.

"You're not sitting with Slytherins?"

"Who would I sit with?"

That was true. Crabbe and Goyle had issues with Draco's sexual orientation and the rest knew he foiled it with Voldemort by taking up with the Boy Who Lived. He had nowhere to go.

Harry slid onto the seat and gazed at his lover. They'd been together for the last two summers and to Harry, it was heaven. To love someone and have them love him back! He'd never felt this happy before.

"You're a Prefect, you know. You shouldn't have done that."

"Who's he going to complain to?" He gazed back at Harry and smiled. But soon the smile faded as his eyes clouded. "What do you suppose will happen when we get to school?"

Harry shrugged. "I don't know. But whatever happens, we'll face it together, won't we?"

Draco tried a smile again but he wasn't too successful. "Yeah. I guess so."

"We'll go to our spot as often as you like," he said, trying to reassure the blond. Their 'spot' was the Shrieking Shack. Harry had fixed it up and Draco called it their love nest. Harry supposed it was. After all, it was the place they could make love. Or at least have a good loud shag.

The door slid open and Hermione and Ron stepped through. "Hi, Harry," said Ron. He turned toward Draco. "And...er...Malfoy."

Everyone froze, staring at the other.

"This is perfectly ridiculous," said Hermione, setting Crookshanks down while Pig whirled about in his cage. She rearranged the cages, grabbed Harry's hand, and pulled him up. "You sit there next to Draco. And I'll sit there next to Ron. You're not the only one to hook up, you know."

Ron blushed but sat where Hermione directed. When she sat beside him Ron took her hand, rather guiltily Harry thought.

But wait. He was holding her hand?

"Hey!" said Harry. "Are you two...?"

"Well, well," said Draco, leaning back. "So the Weasel and the Mu-M-Muggleborn are finally a couple. I think I'm going to be ill."

"You're a fine one to talk," spat Ron. "The mere thought of Harry soiling his hands with your like..."

"Oh, much more than his hands, Weaselby."

Harry elbowed Draco hard. "Draco!"

"Ouch! All right, all right."

"And he's right," said Harry. "You are one to talk. Now can't we all be civil? I mean, we all know where we stand, right?" Harry's cheeks burned. It was one thing writing it in a letter, but another thing facing his friends again. After all, he pretty much told them what he and Draco got up to.

His friends blushed, too. Everyone but Draco, it seemed. His blond lover looked out the window as the train lurched to a start and pulled slowly away from the station with a belch of billowing steam.

"So!" said Harry. He hoped this wasn't a precursor of the rest of his year. He couldn't stand it if everyone began treating him oddly. "Maybe we should just clear the air."

Draco didn't turn back but continued to stare through the glass. "Why?"

"Because! I want my best friends and my-my boyfriend to get along."

Ron made a little choking sound and Harry shot him a withering glance.

"Yes, Harry's right," said Hermione. "It's time. Draco, I think it's perfectly all right for you and Harry to be together. As long as you're good to him and treat him fairly. You haven't got a very good record for that."

"I'm not the one who told, you know. I was perfectly content to keep it to ourselves."

"It couldn't stay that way forever," muttered Harry.

"No. Not with Big Mouth Potter spreading it around to all his little Veritaserum-swilling friends."

"Ginny apologized for that, okay? Can we drop it?"

"Merlin's balls, you both sound just like Ron and Hermione. It's disgusting!" Ginny let the door slam back and looked around. "Room for one more?"

"Oh God! It's a Gryffindor reunion."

"And 'hi' to you, too, Malfoy." She sat, scrunched next to Hedwig's cage.

Draco said nothing, but folded his arms over his chest. Harry couldn't believe he was still sulking over Ginny's accidental slip about them. Harry was fine with it. After all, it allowed Draco to spend the summer with him, and he had had the best summer ever with Draco shagging him every night.

"You're a free man, aren't you, Harry?" said Ginny, leaning toward him. "Free of the Muggles, right?"

Harry smiled. Finally. "Yeah. And it feels great!"

"Aren't you a little worried, though?" said Hermione. Her brow furrowed under her wild hair. "I mean, that was your protection from You-Know-Who. Now all you've got is Hogwarts."

"But I like Hogwarts," said Harry.

"Yeah," said Ron, glaring at Malfoy warily, "even though You-Know-Who was able to get to you there twice. Three times if you count that trip to the Ministry."

Harry shrugged that off. "Those were the odd instance. He's a fully human Wizard again. He can't get in the ways he did before and I won't fall for that dream thing again."

"Yeah. About that." Hermione drummed her fingers on her thigh. "How do you suppose he was able to survive all this time?"

"In my Hogwarts letter, Dumbledore said he had some things to tell me this year. I think it's about bloody time."

No one said anything. They sat in silence, until Draco crept his hand near Harry's under the hem of his robe and slowly intertwined their fingers. Ginny noticed and Draco almost snatched his hand away if Harry hadn't tightened his grip. He wanted to feel Draco right now, wanted to touch him, feel that reassurance. Somehow, he felt that his showdown with Voldemort was looming, that this would be the year. But Draco was still in danger now, too. The both of them were in the same boat. Alone.

* * *

They disembarked the train and walked a ways off the platform to climb into the carriages drawn by Thestrals. Harry saw Draco snatch glances at the other Slytherins studiously ignoring him. Harry held fast to Draco's hand and led him quickly into a carriage, followed by Hermione, Ron, and Ginny.

Draco looked at the surrounding Gryffindors and sneered. "I don't need bodyguards."

"You might," said Ginny. "And because it's my fault, I'll do my best for you."

"I don't need the likes of you-"

"I wouldn't speak so soon, Draco," said Harry. "She's probably the best hexer in the school. Remember the bat boggies?"

Draco scowled. "Intimately."

"And you just might need protection this year."

He crossed his arms sulkily over his chest.

"Draco," said Hermione leaning forward toward him. "It's all right. Really. I know this is going to be a difficult year for you-"

"Do you all mind just shutting up?" He turned toward the window and glared out of it, his face hidden by his almost white hair.

Harry closed his mouth. There was no use trying to reason with him when he was in that kind of mood. He shrugged to his friends, and when they weren't looking, he edged his thigh up against Draco's and just kept it there.

The carriages pulled up to the entrance of the castle and they all climbed out. They ascended the stairs to the Great Hall and walked in but that was where Draco hesitated.

Harry looked at him worriedly but gestured for his friends to go on to their house table. "Draco," he said quietly at his shoulder. "Just go. It will be all right. All the teachers are here. What can they do?"

"You'd be surprised," he muttered. But he moved in jerky steps anyway, knowing there was nothing else he could do. Harry watched him go all the way to the Slytherin table where no one made room for him. He finally found a space at the very end of a bench nearest the door. He slouched and had a miserable look on his face.

Harry found his place between Ron and Ginny and couldn't help looking back at Draco.

The first years were paraded in and the Sorting began. Harry barely noticed. He clutched at a fork for something to do and slipped glances over his shoulder.

"There's nothing you can do," whispered Hermione across Ron.

"I want to protect him," said Harry.

Ron winced. "I'm sure the git can take care of himself."

"Against all of Slytherin?"

Ron tried on a sympathetic expression, but Harry knew he was having a hard time containing his pleasure at Draco's plight. After all, Draco had never been very nice to Ron over the years.

The Sorting seemed to go on forever. Not that Harry was hungry for the feast. His hunger had vanished the moment he looked at Draco. He just wanted the whole feast over with.

Dumbledore made his announcements once the first years had all threaded to their new house tables. Harry barely heard them, until he mentioned Voldemort.

"It would be foolish to assume that Voldemort will spare any part of the Wizarding world," he was saying. "Do write to your parents often, and encourage them to be vigilant. We have taken every precaution to make Hogwarts a safe haven for you. It is, perhaps, the safest place of all for all of you."

Everyone was dead quiet. Dumbledore made a few more announcements about Quidditch and finally, the feast began.

Ron dug in right away, but Harry just grabbed the first thing in front of him-a turkey leg-and absently put it on his plate.

"You have to eat something, Harry," said Hermione in that mother hen voice of hers. He had a hard time masking his annoyance at it. He didn't really envy Ron.

"I'm not hungry."

She shrugged, but surprisingly, Ron pursued it. "She's right, mate. You need your strength. What if You-Know-Who makes an appearance?"

Seamus, who was sitting across from them, suddenly stopped eating and looked up. "You don't mean Dark and Scaly might drop into Hogwarts."

"Don't be ridiculous," said Hermione, cutting her meat daintily. "You heard Dumbledore. Hogwarts is the safest place in Britain."

Seamus continued chewing but now he was actively staring at Harry. "So, Harry," he said, between chewing. "Is it still on with you and Malfoy?"

Harry glared at him. "Yes, it's still on."

"Oh. Well. Guess you must know something about him we don't since we've all thought he was a right git since day one."

Harry supposed he did, too, until they both got involved in that quill pal thing and discovered that the other was gay. He pushed the mashed potatoes around on his plate, watching the gravy ooze over the broken dam. "He's...still sort of a git. Sometimes. But he's really nice to me now. We really get on well."

"I'll bet," piped in Dean Thomas.

Harry felt his face flush and tightened his jaw. "Actually, yes. That too."

Dean fell silent and ducked down to his plate. Harry sighed. "Look. Okay. I'm gay. So is Draco. We have a physical relationship. End of discussion, all right?"

"Okay, Harry," said Neville, sitting next to Dean. "It's not an issue with me. I'm just glad he makes you happy. He does, doesn't he?"

Harry gave him a smile. "More than you'll ever know."

"Then that's all that matters, right?" He looked at Dean and Seamus and Ron.

The boys exchanged uncomfortable glances and finally shrugged. Hermione rolled her eyes. "Boys!" she muttered.

Harry decided that he probably should eat something and the turkey leg was starting to look good to him. He picked it up, but just as he brought it to his mouth, a dark shadow suddenly loomed over the table. He didn't need to look up to know who it was.

"Potter," said the disdainful voice of Severus Snape. "The headmaster wishes to see you after the feast. He must have a stronger digestive system than the rest of us to subject himself so." He smiled. His yellow teeth gleamed malevolently. "At any rate, he wished me to also inform you to try the vanilla custard."

With that, Snape swept away with a flourish of robes.

"How does he do that?" said Seamus, shaking his head.

"What's with the dessert recommendation?" asked Dean.

"It's the password to Dumbledore's office," said Hermione quietly.

Oh. Harry hadn't realized. Good thing Hermione was paying attention as usual.

The feast seemed to go on forever, almost as long as the Sorting. Harry managed to eat a little, but he'd lost his appetite again with the message that he would be talking to Dumbledore. He hoped it was about some of those things he'd promised to talk about in his letters.

Harry waved goodnight to his friends and headed up the stairs toward the Headmaster's office. Everyone was heading to their common rooms for the night, and the halls were filled with the sounds of hundreds of feet stomping through corridors and up and down staircases. But as Harry walked on, the sounds diminished. Laughter, talking, all became muffled and finally silent. He walked along alone, his feet barely making a sound on the long stretches of carpet in the corridors. The stone cressets threw dancing firelight against the walls.

Harry had grown used to odd shadows at Hogwarts, having been going to school with ghosts for the last six years. But something out of the corner of his eye wasn't right. He continued walking but surreptitiously pulled his wand. All at once, he spun and aimed the lighted tip behind him. "Who's there!"

Draco shrank back. "Watch it, Potter! Put that thing away!"

Harry said a quick "Nox," and stuffed the wand back in his robes. "Draco! What are you doing here?" He didn't wait. He walked up to the blond, put his arms around him, and kissed him. "I've been dying to do that all night."

Draco was distracted but he seemed to appreciate the intimate gesture. He rubbed Harry's arm absently. "I was told that Dumbledore wanted to see me. What are you doing here?"

Harry smiled. "Same thing."

"Oh. So we're in trouble already. What's wrong now? Can't hold hands in train or something?"

"I'm sure it's nothing like that." But Harry was now worried. What if Dumbledore told them they couldn't fraternize anymore? What if he told them they couldn't be boyfriends? He suddenly remembered their illegal entry into Diagon Alley that summer and Dumbledore's angry Howler. His stomach felt ill and he walked forward slower than before.

When they got to the gargoyle statue, Harry said-rather reluctantly, "Vanilla custard."

It slid aside revealing the griffin stair.

They both stepped up onto the moving staircase and rode it to the top. Harry looked at Draco once before he knocked on the door.

"Come!" said the familiar voice.

Harry opened the door and led the way into the strange and grand study. Draco followed on his heels and they both sat in the chairs indicated by the old wizard.

"Harry. Draco. How good of you to come at so late an hour. I regret that it is so late, but as you must suspect, the schedule of the first day of term is naturally crowded. So. How was your summer?"

Harry's grin was as wide as could be. "It was brilliant, sir! My best ever!" He looked at Draco to confirm this, but the blonde's face was frowning.

"It was all right," he muttered.

Harry stared at him openmouthed. What the bloody hell was wrong with him this time? Sometimes that man could be so infuriating.

Dumbledore smiled kindly at Draco. "There are difficult times ahead, Mr. Malfoy. I'm sure you can also appreciate that sentiment."

"I'm living it."

"I have heard from your mother."

He jerked upright and slid to the edge of his seat. "How is she?"

"She is very well. She misses you. I'm certain you can receive owls from her here as she was unable to send them to Privet Drive. We certainly didn't want her owls traced."

Once Dumbledore said it, Harry realized for the first time that Draco had never received owls. He already knew his friends had deserted the Slytherin, but he had forgotten about his mother.

"Can I see her?"

Dumbledore's eyes lowered. "I am afraid not. It would be most unsafe for her."

"But you said Hogwarts was the safest place to be."

"Only if she stayed. And I was unable to convince her to do so."

Draco slumped. He obviously missed his mother. Harry suddenly felt extremely selfish. He reached out and stroked the hand that was clutching the chair arm. His grey eyes looked up at Harry. At first they looked glossy, but as he watched they hardened, as they must have had to do many times before.

"At least she can owl me," he said.

"Yes, indeed. But there are other matters we must discuss tonight. As you are also surely aware, it is still unsafe for you in Slytherin House. You are a Prefect and so I have made the unusual move to open up again the old Prefect rooms. The separate bathrooms for Prefects have been open for some time...as you both know," and he sent a knowing look at Harry.

Jeesh. Was there nothing that old man didn't know about?

"The Prefect rooms?" asked Draco.

"Yes, at one time the Prefects also had their own rooms, but many years ago it was thought the privilege was too broad and they were closed up. I have chosen to reopen one...for you."

"Oh." Draco didn't seem to know what to do with this information. To Harry, it opened up a realm of possibilities.

As if he were listening in on Harry's thoughts-and perhaps he was-Dumbledore turned to Harry. "Now Mr. Potter, while Mr. Malfoy must stay in these rooms at night for his protection I have not made this decision lightly. The whole situation is still highly volatile. Do I have your word, Harry, that you will not sneak out of your dorm after curfew to...ah...visit...Mr. Malfoy?"

Harry licked his lips. He stared straight into the headmaster's light blue eyes with a lie poised on the tip of his tongue. But he knew it was useless. He really couldn't lie to the man anymore and look him in the eye. "No, sir. I can't promise that."

"Are you mental!" hissed Draco. "What's the matter with you?"

"I don't like to lie, is all."

"Crikey, Potter! Get a clue. What's a lie every now and again?"

"Slytherin," rasped Harry.

"Gryffindork!" said Draco.

"Gentlemen!" Dumbledore sat back. "I appreciate your honesty, Harry. It only convinces me that I must resort to something I wished not to have to do."

Harry's heart hammered wildly in his chest. That's done it. The headmaster would put some sort of impenetrable charm on Draco's quarters. Or worse! On Draco himself! NO! He couldn't do that to Harry.

Harry canted forward. "Headmaster, please. Draco means so much to me now. We must be able to see one another." He knew he sounded desperate. He was!

Dumbledore shook his head. "Harry, you misunderstand me. I would never try to get in the way of your happiness. I know that you have had precious little of it. No, it has been a difficult choice to make. It is not something I would ordinarily sanction, you understand, but these are extraordinary circumstances. Both your lives are at stake and I cannot risk either of you. And the two of you are of age. And so. I have decided that Harry will be living in the same quarters with you."

Dead silence. Even Fawkes made no sound.

Harry was the first to stir. "S-sorry. I don't think I heard you correctly, sir."

Dumbledore sighed. "I cannot risk that you will be wandering about at Hogwarts at night, Harry. Something you have been wont to do, much to the consternation of our staff. Even as safe as Hogwarts is, there is still the possibility of...well. There are possibilities I do not wish to contemplate. The only solution was to make certain you would not be doing so...by setting you up in Draco's room."

Draco stood up. "You've got to be kidding. Does my mother know this?"

"I have told her, yes. She was not happy about it, but that is neither here nor there. She has agreed to it."

Draco slowly sat again as the immensity of Dumbledore's proposal sunk in. He looked up at the old wizard. "You do know that Harry and I have sex together?"

Harry choked. "Draco!"

Dumbledore waved him off. "I suspected as much when I sent you to live with Harry this summer. I was convinced it was consensual." He raised a brow to Harry.

Harry nodded numbly.

"As I said. However, this must be a secret between the two of you."

"How is that possible, sir?" asked Harry, surprised his voice had come back as swiftly as it did. "My housemates-"

"Yes, yes. Your housemates. This is how it shall be. Any deviation from the plan will result in my rescinding this offer. And there will be stringent rules applied to the two of you. I trust you would not find that an appealing alternative."

"No, sir," they echoed.

"Harry, you will go to your common room at night as always. Even repair to your dorm room. But once there, you will Portkey to Draco's room. No one but your dorm mates will know what you are doing. In the morning, you will Portkey back to the dorm. I trust your Gryffindor housemates can be trusted to keep a secret."

"Of course, sir. But...er...You see, it already looks as if I have enjoyed special privileges, and I don't know if they'll resent me for it."

"That is something you will have to work out on your own, Harry. Now. The question is, can they truly be trusted?"

"If they thought my life depended on it."

"Indeed, it might. Everyone will think you are still in your dorm room. Both friends and foes. They won't suspect that you and Mr. Malfoy are safe in a triple warded room."

He rose and Harry and Draco automatically followed suit. "The location of the Prefect rooms is next to the bathroom. It is hidden behind a tapestry. The door is invisible, but if you say the password 'Snickersnee' it will reveal itself and open for you." Dumbledore reached into his robes and pulled out a smooth round stone, similar to those found alongside the Black Lake. "Here, Harry. Keep this with you at all times. In an emergency, it will get you out of trouble. Don't use it until you are in your dorm room. Your trunk is still there and I suggest you leave it there."

Harry took the stone, rubbed his thumb across it, and slipped it into his pocket.

"And so gentlemen, good night. And...be good."

Dumbledore sat again and opened his book. They had obviously been dismissed and both boys turned and left the office. Once back in the corridor they looked at each other.

"Is this a dream or something?" asked a dazed Draco.

Harry shook his head. "I don't know. It might be."

Harry felt a finger trace a gentle path over his face. "Can you feel that?" Draco asked softly.

"Yes." His heartbeat sped up. "Definitely."

Draco dropped his hand away. "Well. I guess I'll be seeing you in a few minutes."

"Did you have to tell Dumbledore we were having sex?"

"He isn't an idiot, Potter. At least about this. I'm sure homosexuality existed even in his day."

"I know, but-" The memory of it flushed his face with heat. Draco reached over and kissed the embarrassment away.

"And I want to continue with the sex," said Draco with a wicked grin. "Don't you?"

Harry's perplexed face finally changed to a happier one. "Yes. Of course."

"Then. Let's go. The sooner you explain it to your dorm mates the better. I am positively dying to shag you."

Harry flushed again but not with embarrassment this time. He kissed Draco one more time before he ascended the stairs to Gryffindor, while Malfoy headed toward the Prefect's room.

Harry passed through the portrait hole and most everyone had gone off to bed. Hermione, Ron, and Ginny, however, were waiting for Harry by the fire. He stopped when he noticed them. He hadn't expected this. He wasn't certain if he was supposed to tell Hermione and Ginny, but somehow it didn't seem right that he didn't.

They jumped up to greet him. "Harry!" said Hermione. "What did he say? Was it something important about You-Know-Who?"

"Actually...." Harry settled into the sofa and watched them gather around him. He glanced once over his shoulder. "It wasn't about that." They sat on the sofa and on the hearth, leaning toward him. "This is, of course, confidential." They nodded vigourously. "The headmaster is putting Draco in one of the Prefect rooms instead of having him go back to Slytherin."

"Prefect rooms?" Hermione's face scrunched up in thought. "I remember reading about that in Hogwarts: A History. They closed them up because the school resented too many privileges for the Prefects and Head Boy and Girl. But they left the bathrooms open." She shrugged. "I guess that's sensible. He'll be safe there. But Harry. You really mustn't be sneaking off at night to meet with him. It isn't safe."

"I know. Dumbledore thought so too. He asked me point blank if I intended on sneaking out to stay with Draco."

Ron cringed. Harry couldn't tell if it was because of his sexuality, because he was talking about sex with Malfoy, or both. He ignored him.

"And you told him you wouldn't, of course," she said sensibly.

"Actually, I told him I would."

"What?" said Ginny a little too loudly so that the others had to shush her.

"I couldn't lie to him. I would. I want to be him. He's worth it-Crikey, Ron, give it a rest!"

"Sorry." Ron sat back, trying not to make more gurgling noises.

"So," Harry continued. "Dumbledore's...well, he's letting me stay with Draco. So I don't sneak out."

Silence. The flames crackled merrily in the hearth, but the Gryffindors said nothing. Harry's hands were clammy and he wiped them down on his trousers.

Finally, Hermione spoke up. "He's actually allowing you to...I mean he's all right with...does he know what he's saying?"

"Does he know what we do, you mean?" he asked, trying not to look at Ron. "Yeah. He's got a pretty good idea. But he'd rather we were together than risk either of us sneaking about and getting hurt or caught or something." He took the stone out of his pocket. "This is a Portkey. I'm supposed to go to my dorm as usual and only my dorm mates were to know what I was doing. Then I'd return by morning. Everyone would think I was still in my dorm, you see."

Hermione's lips thinned in thought. "It's clever, really," she said at last. "It's a good idea. You'd be safe. No one would know where you really were."

"But would the rest of that lot go for it?" asked Ginny. They suddenly twisted toward Ron.

He looked back at them in turn. "Don't look at me!"

"Ron," said Harry seriously. "How do you think Dean and Seamus would take this? I don't worry about Neville. He's all right about it. It's about keeping me safe. Would they really see it that way? And they've got to keep it to themselves."

"Bloody hell, Harry. It's Malfoy. That's the thing. If it were a girl-"

"Malfoy, is it? It'd be okay if it were a girl?" Harry felt his face flushing with anger.

"Well, not a Slytherin girl. It's a lot of things."

"Just my life."

Ginny snorted. "Harry, if you were that concerned with your life then you'd be a good boy and stay in your dorm like you were told."

He smoothed his countenance and glanced back at Ron. He'd been really mad at him, but Ginny was right. This whole issue wouldn't come up if he could control his hormones and not be so selfish. "You're right. I've got no business being mad at anyone. I'll see if they want to go along with it. And if they don't, I'll just tell Draco it's off. The Prefect thing, that is."

They all seemed to agree with that. Ron and Harry trudged up the stairs and said their goodnights to the girls. Now it was time to face his dorm mates.

Harry watched them for a moment. Neville was carefully refolding his clothes in his trunk, putting them in order of how he dressed, y-fronts on top, robe at the bottom. Dean was attaching yet another Muggle football poster to the wall and Seamus was looking through a wizard wanking mag. Harry could just see the white skin of one of the girls waving seductively at Seamus' wicked smile.

"Hey," said Harry. "I have something to tell you." They stopped what they were doing and looked up, a little white-faced. If Harry had an announcement, it usually meant something to do with Voldemort.

Sheepishly, Harry explained it again, trying to keep his face neutral under the gasps and grimacing of Seamus and Dean.

"But if you lot think it's too much to keep to yourselves, then I won't do it. I mean, I've already gotten away with too much as it is."

"Too much," echoed Seamus, throwing down his mag. "Too much, like having your parents killed, or living with those awful Muggles, or having You-Know-Who after your skin year after year. Sorry, mate, but if those are your 'privileges', I'll skip them if that's all the same to you."

Harry stared at him, surprised. Seamus had been absolutely stunned by his affair with Draco and had been one of the strongest objectors to it earlier.

Seamus grinned awkwardly. "I've been thinking a bit about it, see. Thought you'd gone mental for sure when we found out about you and Malfoy. But hell, Harry. If the bastard makes you happy, who are we to take that away from you? I'm in."

Dean swallowed hard. He looked at his housemates in turn. Finally, he shrugged. "Hey, if Seamus is in--and he's the biggest prat there ever was--then I guess I'm in, too."

Harry grinned from ear to ear. "Thanks, guys. I really appreciate it."

"At least Harry's getting some," said Seamus, flopping down on his bed and flipping through the pages again. "Not that we want to hear the details, mind. But at least one of ours is on the tally board."

"Yeah," said Dean. "Most of us aren't doing too well in that respect. Well, Ron and Hermione, I guess."

"Hey, watch your mouth," said Ron, hands curling into fists. "I'm a perfect gentleman around 'Mione."

"Won't let you in her knickers, eh mate?" laughed Seamus.

Ron's face reddened. "I'm going to bed," he muttered.

The rest laughed as Ron started disrobing, Harry among them. As they all went to their beds, Harry became more nervous. Especially as they were eyeing him. "Well," said Harry after a while. He pulled the stone from his pocket. "I guess...I should go. Feels a little strange since...well...."

"Since we all know what you're going to be doing," giggled Dean. "Crikey, Harry. If it were a girl we'd be cheering you on. Shows what a bunch of hypocrites we are."

"Not a bunch of hypocrites," said Harry quickly. "Not really. Um...I mean, it's probably hard getting used to my being gay, let alone Draco on top of that...er...I mean-"

"Don't want to know who's on top, mate," said Seamus, rolling his eyes. "Just go, already."

"Goodnight, Harry," said Neville. "See you tomorrow."

"Yeah. Goodnight." Harry felt a wash of affection for all of them. They were really his mates, all right. He held the stone and looked at it, muttering, "One...two...three!" A string hooked into his navel and grabbed him out of one reality and pulled him suddenly to another. The Gryffindor dorm disappeared around him and an arched room of dark greens and luxurious tapestries solidified around him...before he fell over onto the carpeted floor.

"Graceful, Harry," said the familiar voice. He looked up and smiled at Draco.

"You could help me up."

Draco rolled his eyes and offered Harry his hand. "Took you long enough to get here. I thought you'd changed your mind, or something."

"Almost did. I was just being a typical Gryffindor and had to explain it to all of my friends."

"All of your friends? Dumbledore told you to just tell your dorm mates."

"Well. I couldn't very well not tell Hermione and Ginny."

"Yes, you could have! Who else did you tell?"

"No one. Just Neville, Ron, Seamus, and Dean. That's it."

"And Hermione and Ginny. What part of 'this is a secret' don't you get, Potter? Our lives are on the line here."

"Calm down, Draco. It's all right. I told you. Don't you believe me?"

Draco was in full pouting mode. "You lie, you know. When you told Ginny last year-"

"Are you ever going to get over that? Shit, Draco. It's done with. Over. Get a grip."

This was getting annoying. He had been looking forward to a romantic evening, and here was Draco, queening out on him.

"Can we just get the theatrics over with and go to bed," said Harry. "I'm tired."

"You want to sleep? And what do you mean theatrics?"

Harry pivoted and suddenly grabbed Draco in an embrace. "You're overdoing it," he whispered to his lips. "I'm here. Isn't that what really matters? And I do want to sleep, but only after I've gotten a thorough shag by my one true love. Okay?"

Draco glared at him for a moment longer and then his expression softened. "I'm your one true love? Really?"

"I can't think of anyone else. So what do you say?"

"I say...." He hugged Harry tightly and pressed his lips softly to his. "You'd better not think of anyone else."

Harry looked at Draco's face and absorbed every smooth plane and dip. His eyes were so perfectly shaded. Sometimes in the right light they would almost seem blue. Right now, in firelight, they were like slate; flat, dark, sharp. His lips were red and Harry watched transfixed as Draco ran his tongue over them and they glistened. Draco was in full lust mode and Harry shivered a bit at it. He suddenly had a hard on to drill metal. "Take me to bed, yeah?" he whispered to Draco's lips.

A smile curved the blonde's mouth. He grabbed Harry, dragged him to the bed, and flung him to the duvet. He lifted his wand and with an unfamiliar spell, both he and Harry were suddenly divested of all their clothes. It took Harry's breath away. "Fuck, Malfoy! What was that?"

"I've been wanting to try that for a while. It works, I see."

"Yeah," said Harry, flushing with a surge of embarrassment.

"There's that blush I so adore," purred Draco. He looked down at his own straining erection and took it in hand, stroking it slowly and watching Harry's reaction.

Harry's reaction was close to drooling. His own prick was hard as wood, the head dark like a plum. Harry lay on his back propped up on his elbows, eyes glued to what Draco was doing to his own dick.

Still clutching his cock, Draco crawled up on the bed and stayed on his knees, closing the gap between him and Harry. Harry's cock was dripping now. The slit bubbled with a white pearl of precum and when Harry squeezed it, it dribbled over. He rubbed it over the head of his cock, hoping to tempt Draco to take it in his mouth. He loved when Draco gave him head. He had such a talented and limber tongue, not to mention the hot sweetness of his moist mouth.

Harry spread his legs and rolled his balls in his palm. He lifted his hips, displaying his arse hole. I'm such a slut, he thought, enjoying the look of utter lust on Draco's face, and knowing that he would soon be the recipient of his ardent attentions.

But Draco didn't move to take Harry's cock in his mouth or to shag him. Instead, he slid right up to Harry's face with his dick in his hand.

"You want me to suck it?" asked Harry hopefully, voice coarse.

"No. Not yet. There's all night, you know. I just want to rub my cock all over you first. Claim you."

Draco's cock touched Harry's cheek and the Gryffindor moaned. It touched his lips and he couldn't help but kiss it and then snake out a tongue and give it a lick. That made Draco chuckle, a sound rumbling from deep within his chest that made Harry shiver again.

The cock rubbed back and forth over Harry's lips. He tasted Draco's spunk leaking from the plump cockhead and he longed to take the whole thing in his mouth. But he rather wanted to see what Draco had in mind just now.

He slid his cock over Harry's chin and stroked down his neck with the velvety head. Harry closed his eyes and melted into the extraordinary sensation of Draco's dick making an excruciatingly slow path down his body. It teased a nipple making the nubbin hard and tight. "How's that, my man?" whispered Draco.

"Brilliant," Harry breathed.

The Slytherin dragged his cock further, leaving a thin trail of moisture behind, until Harry felt it reach his pubic hair. Draco straddled him then and slowly slid his prick up along Harry's.

"Oh Draco," he moaned. "Shag me. Please!"

"You're absolutely dripping aren't you?" He grabbed Harry's cock and gave it a squeeze. Harry wriggled his hips pleadingly. "Roll over. I want to see your arse."

Harry whimpered. That would trap his prick under his body and he so wanted Draco to touch it, wank it, lick it. But he rolled over and lay on his belly. He spread his legs and offered his bum to Draco.

But Draco wasn't done with the cock tour of Harry's body. It slid down his back and Harry felt Draco straddle him and rest it there just at the swell of his bum. Harry wiggled his bottom a little, encouraging Draco to continue. "Patience, sweet Harry," Draco rasped. He rubbed the cock back and forth over both mounds, in no particular hurry to do more. Harry felt the soft pat, pat of Draco's bollocks against his bum and sighed deeply. He was getting the duvet damp from his leaking cock. He spread his legs further, shamelessly exposing himself.

"My, my, Harry. You are a sight, aren't you? Is this what you want?" He took his cock in hand and pushed it against Harry's hole.

"Oh yes!" Harry was almost delirious with passion. He raised his hips into it.

Draco chuckled and tapped Harry's bum with his wand. Harry felt the coolness of lube inside and out. Another neat spell. Where was Draco learning these things?

"I'm not going to be gentle," he warned, and placed the dome of his cock against Harry's entrance.

"Do it," Harry growled. "Do it hard."

Draco didn't hesitate. He shoved forward-not waiting for Harry to get used to him. He forced the tight sphincter open, rammed his cock all the way in and only stopped for a moment to savor the feel of Harry's tightness. He sighed and then Harry could feel the boy's leg muscles tighten as he drew out almost all the way and thrust forward again.

Harry moaned. It was a bit painful, even though he was lubed well. He wasn't ready. But it didn't matter. It was Draco deep inside him, Draco pounding away relentlessly at his arse, Draco loving him.

His lover angled lower and hit Harry's sweet spot. It was all worth it then. He thrust his bottom upward into Draco taking as much as he could. He was going to come, without Draco's ever having touched his dick.

"Oh God!" Harry matched Draco's driving thrusts, moving even faster than his lover, hitting the sweet spot each time and he suddenly let loose with a searing orgasm and a shout. His cum spread over the duvet and his thrusting hips made certain that he creamed his pubic hair and his trapped penis in the mess.

Draco continued to pound into him, gripping his hips hard. Even in a haze, Harry recognized that familiar kind of thrusting which meant Draco was on the verge of coming himself. Sure enough, with a grunt he shot his load high into Harry's backside, giving little milking thrusts as the waves of pleasure subsided. He held Harry's hips for a moment longer and then pulled out.

Lying in his own spunk, Harry felt the irresistible sensation of Draco's cum dribbling from his hole. He was a mess coming and going! But Draco still wasn't through. He pushed up Harry's legs like a frog's, exposing his pulsing anus even further as well as his reddened bollocks. First there was a nose caressing its way over his crack and then that tongue-that moist, warm tongue-laving up the cum trailing from his arse. Harry felt the pad of that tongue lovingly caress his bum, his crack, his hole, his balls, his thighs. It made his cock twitch again, longing for the feel of it there.

And because Draco knew Harry so well, when he was done cleaning him, he gently turned him over and smiled down at Harry's renewed erection. "This needs cleaning, too," he said, voice low and seductive. He leaned over and ran his tongue up Harry's hard shaft, swirling it over the head, cleaning it of the last orgasm to give it yet another.

Harry was writhing now. The sensations were almost too much. Draco's lips closed over the tip of Harry's cock and he sucked it gently. His tongue made a furious path over the glans and down to his sac, swirling over the tightening scrotum.

Harry lost all control. "Suck me! Oh please suck me!" he begged, not caring that it made him sound like the biggest whore. He felt Malfoy chuckle as he swallowed Harry's prick and began sucking it in earnest. Harry came immediately. Draco sucked even harder, drinking down each delicious drop of cum. When Harry had given all he had, Draco licked it all clean again, gave it one last kiss, and nestled beside Harry.

"Just think," he said. "We have all of this year to spend every night, all night together. It's a dream come true."

Harry nodded. His brain took its time but it was focusing again. "A dream come true."

Draco snuggled his face into Harry's armpit. "I love you, Harry."

"Oh Draco. I love you so much."

Growing drowsy, Harry never felt safer, more loved, more at peace. Had he been in his right mind and not dazed from two orgasms, he would have realized that this was merely the calm before the storm.


On to Part Two
"Defenseless"

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