Gold Tinted Spectacles (Hecatemus Book #1)

Chapter 14 - The Aftermath (pt2)

Harry almost choked on his sausage.

* * *

Draco had his hand firmly clamped in Harry's as they made their way back to the Gryffindor common room after their first day, and he couldn't help glancing at his lover every now and then. The description of zombie came to mind when he looked at the Harry's face; his soulmate barely appeared to be awake.

There was no distress coming from Harry, but Draco knew that his lover was, putting it bluntly, completely knackered. He was glad the end of their last lesson hadn't been too strenuous, or he wasn't sure Harry would have made it back to the tower.

"Harry, you in there?" Ron asked from where he was walking just behind with Hermione.

"Hmm," Harry replied and woke up a little from his daze, "yeah, just tired."

"You could have gone back to our room and taken a nap when I had Arithmancy after lunch," Draco chided gently.

"Unless you have a spell for waking the dead I am not sleeping during the day," Harry replied with a smile as they walked up to the Fat Lady. "Brandy wine," he said absently. "Anyway Arithmancy was interesting. I have no idea what you were going on about most of the time, but it was interesting."

The portrait opened and the four stepped through. Draco was quite surprised that Harry had found anything to interest him in what many people in school considered the most boring subject next to The History of Magic.

"Upstairs," Draco said as Harry paused in the common room and glanced at the comfortable looking sofa near the fire.

"Ooh, I love it when you're forceful," Harry said with a grin.

Draco gave him an unimpressed look; he did not want Harry keeling over in the common room and he definitely didn't want to have to help put any broken shields back if someone overpowered his soulmate's defences. The after effects were not always fun and he'd had enough of that over the past couple of days.

"Just move, Wonder Boy," Draco said with a half smile, "before you fall down."

It occurred to him that the whole conversation had to be a very bizarre spectacle for the Gryffindor common room, but Draco was not about to compromise.

"I can manage one day without collapsing," Harry said pointedly, but the confused state his thoughts were in, gave everything away to Draco.

He put both hands on his hips and glared at his stubborn soulmate.

"Okay, I'm going," Harry capitulated easily, which gave a good indication that he was fully aware Draco was right.

As Harry walked towards the tower steps Hermione caught Draco's arm just before he went to follow.

"Will you two be down for dinner?" she asked with a slightly worried look in Harry's direction.

Draco shook his head following her gaze.

"No," he replied, "I can guarantee that when we get upstairs Harry will just pass out. He's going to need to eat tonight though, but I don't want him going anywhere near the main hall."

Hermione smiled at that.

"I'll ask the house elves to bring you both something," she said.

Draco found himself smiling; he was beginning to realise that friends like the Muggleborn witch were worth their weight in gold. It was a concept that he was only slowly coming to accept.

"Thank you," he said and then went to follow Harry. "I wonder if he'll be more interested in sex or food when he wakes up," he mused absently, his lover's dazed state rubbing off on him.

"Malfoy," it was Ron's voice and Draco turned before he went up the steps. "For the record, don't think out loud, it's disturbing."

He gave the Gryffindor an unrepentant smile and then climbed after Harry. When he walked into their room and closed the door his lover was kicking off his shoes and only had eyes for the bed.

"Wake me for dinner," Harry said having totally missed the conversation Draco had just had with Hermione.

Draco did not bother to try and dissuade his soulmate of the idea, however, and he watched his lover climb onto the bed. Harry lay down on his front without shedding anything but his footwear and promptly went to sleep almost before his head hit the pillow. Harry had been in the dopey, half dreamlike state between waking and sleeping for the last few minutes so there was barely any transition that Draco could discern.

For a few moments he considered joining Harry on the bed; it was a very inviting idea, but he decided it would just be an indulgence. Draco had homework that needed doing and he was behind everyone else even though the work had been passed to them in the hospital wing, so he turned to the large desk in the corner. With a final fond glance as his sleeping lover Draco set about finding his way back to the head of the class.