Gold Tinted Spectacles (Hecatemus Book #1)

Chapter 7 - Reality

Their minds were already deeply connected, but Harry felt Draco's presence intensify even more. As Draco concentrated they were almost as closely connected as they had been during sex. There were still two of them, but they almost seemed to occupy the same space.

[Use me, Harry,] Draco's voice said in his mind, [I am between you and the world. I can take some of it away, but you need to block out the rest.]

Harry let his mind explore the feeling of his soulmate for a while, examining Draco's mental presence in ways Harry had not realised were possible. Being a Hecatemus was new and strange, but it felt natural as well. Draco was blocking some of the power, Harry could feel it, and slowly he opened his eyes.

The patterns on the ceiling were still there, but they were fainter, almost ghostly. Taking the feeling of Draco, Harry pulled the sensation deep inside and tried to forge the same feeling within himself. It was difficult; he lost the idea several times before something flared inside him.

It was like flicking a switch, suddenly the lights went out.

Harry was left blinking at the white ceiling in amazement. He heard himself laugh and Draco slowly sat up, his mind steady and constant inside Harry's. Harry looked into his soulmate's grey eyes with triumph, then a lock of Draco's hair slipped over his face, which Harry found adorable, and his concentration cracked.

The light switch went on again and the room lit up with the forces in it.

[Not bad for a first try,] Draco said, smiling down at him, [we'll have you doing this in your sleep before you know it.]

* * *

It was thirty six hours before Harry could keep his barriers up for more than a few minutes, at which point he could shield long enough that Madam Pomfrey requested that she be allowed to come in and make sure there were no physical side effects of the bonding.

They had been left pretty much alone except for a few brief conversations through the speaking wall and someone entering their sanctuary bothered both Harry and Draco. Draco knew that he was experiencing a protective streak that he had never felt before and it was a little frightening. Suddenly finding himself placing someone else before his own interests without question was not something Draco was used to. The fact that he suspected he was willing to do anything to protect Harry was rather overpowering as well.

Contrary to what every Gryffindor except Harry, and a large percentage of the rest of the school thought, Draco had never been completely self-centred. He cared about his friends and his family, but there was no denying he was a Malfoy, and, as such, he had certain responsibilities, which included making sure he always ended up at the top of the heap.

When people accused Draco of being a self-centred git they failed to realise that in every action he took, he considered many generations of family. That he had already betrayed said family and would quite happily kill any one of them that tried to touch a hair on Harry's head, had not escaped his notice. It was quite worrying to his normally cold and collected psyche to realise that if anyone so much as raised their voice to his soulmate just at the moment, they were likely to end up on the wrong side of his wand.

Waiting for Madam Pomfrey to enter the room was not helping Draco's equilibrium, especially since Harry was a bundle of nerves. He was having to employ all his years of Malfoy training to retain a semblance of calm.

[If you need her out of here just say,] Draco told his lover firmly.

To his surprise he saw a smile appear on Harry's face at that instruction and he felt the underlying amusement run through his soulmate. Draco was not amused at all by the situation and he failed to see the humour in what he had said.