Two Sides of the Same Coin(DRARRY)

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

"All thoughts, all passions, all delights, / Whatever stirs this mortal frame, / Are all but ministers of Love, / And feed his sacred flame." - Samuel Coleridge

Draco's first thought upon waking the next morning was that he had had extremely vivid dreams. Not bad ones, thank God, but vivid ones nonetheless. Dreams where Harry Potter pursued him to deserted stairwells in the dead of night and snogged him within an inch of his life, until Draco was reduced to a whimpering, boneless puddle of lust. Dreams where Harry was a master of persuasion the rival of any lower-tier Slytherin and coaxed ill-fated promises from Draco's vulnerable heart.

His second thought was along the lines of, "Oh my God. I called him Harry." Potter. Harry. Harry Potter. He tried it outloud: "Harry." It didn't feel as strange in his mouth as ought to. Perhaps because he'd said it in the dream – which was actually further confirmation that it had, in fact, just been a dream. He never would have called Harry Potter by anything other than his surname in real life. Right?

He took a deep breath to soothe his constricting chest.

Draco's third thought brought him to his lips, which were gently pulsing as if they held a small heartbeat trapped between them. He lifted his fingers to them; they felt a little swollen. That was unusual. In fact, the only other time they'd ever felt like this was after Pansy...

His fourth thought was loud and firm – a realization: It hadn't been a dream.

Draco sat straight up in bed, his fingertips still pressed to his mouth as the night's events came rushing back. Running from Harry in the Potions cupboard. Pacing his room. Not being able to sleep. Contemplating the assistance of Nocturna Mortem. Deciding to clear his head on the Astronomy Tower instead. Getting nowhere. Harry finding him. Harry chasing him.

Kissing Harry.

Succumbing.

Draco's eyes felt too swollen for his head, his heart too swollen for his chest.

They'd snogged until Draco's lips were almost numb, though he doubted he'd ever become numb to the sensation of Harry's lips caressing and abusing his. They'd snogged like they'd never get another chance, like it had been now or never. And in a way it had been, for what was it that he had said to Harry? He'd said: "Now is all I can promise."

What was 'now,' anyway? What had he thought to mean by that? It was so vague; it said nothing. Surely the only reason it had slipped past his lips was because he hadn't been thinking – Harry had seen to that.

How long did 'now' last? Where did one now end and another begin? Was now over? Was this now?

If it was, Draco was wasting it dithering in bed. He knew the only solution was to see Harry and speak to him, but even though he knew it, he resisted it. Harry didn't know or care what was good for him, and his enthusiastic carelessness in that regard made it all too easy for Draco to forget, too, when he was with him. And therein lied the danger: despite knowing it was entirely imprudent, Draco so wanted to forget again...

Draco forced himself to relax his fists, which had clenched into his comforter, and coaxed himself out of bed. If nothing else, he had appearances to keep up and classes to attend. He couldn't stay cooped up in his room all day avoiding the real Harry Potter while alternately ravishing and throttling the one who existed purely for the purpose of occupying his thoughts.

He got up. He showered. He dressed. He collected his homework. He left his room and headed for the Great Hall.

… & …

"Harry, I know it's not the best timing, but I think you really need to start thinking about what you're going to do after we graduate," Hermione lectured her friend over oatmeal. "McGonagall is being patient with you, but it just isn't practical to think you can postpone this decision indefinitely. You can't graduate without a plan. You just can't! Have you given any thought to shadowing an Auror for a day? McGonagall said we can be excused from lessons for interviews and things, and then at least you'd know what it'd be like..." Hermione peered at Harry expectantly.