Raspberry Jam-Drarry

Chapter 3 - Friday, 11 October 1996

Draco fidgeted nervously once again, shifting restlessly foot to foot as he waited, hoping he had understood Potter's note correctly. "Honestly. Couldn't he have been a bit more verbose than "F 6 Laces"? This had better be the right place."

Friday at 6:00 had been easy enough to decipher, but "Laces" had him stumped until he remembered an evening encounter between them in their third year. They had had a small confrontation beside the portrait of Octavia Martinelle. They had, of all things, both stopped at the nearby alcove to retie their respective shoelaces. Nothing had come of the meeting besides snide comments. He was pretty sure he had decoded the note correctly but, still, it was nearly 6:10.

As Draco continued to fret, he suddenly felt a hand upon his mouth and an arm come around his chest from behind. Before he could panic, Harry's voice came softly into his ear, "Sorry for being late. Had to evade the lackeys." A string of hissed syllables later and Potter tightened his hold upon Draco, spun him around and stepped into space.

Draco clutched reflexively at Harry's forearms as he felt them enter freefall. His grip didn't lighten once he felt the speed of their fall slowly reduce and then felt firm ground under his feet once again. Harry released him and Draco's first comment came out a strangled, "Fuck, Potter!"

A light and amused chuckle behind him was followed by a hissed word that lit several torches, illuminating the small, plain room they were in. Draco spun around in time to watch Harry emerge from his invisibility cloak, a look of interest on his face and amusement sparkling in his eyes. Draco scowled and Harry smirked back at him.

"Just what would you have done, Potter, if I had died from the heart attack you just gave me?" Draco testily demanded.

"Banished your body to the lake and gone back to the tower," Harry replied so matter-of-factly that Draco gaped at him in disbelief.

"You sure you want this, Malfoy?" Harry asked seriously. "Malfoy?"

"Please tell me you would not have really fed my body to the squid, Potter. Please." Draco looked somewhat sickened and dismayed by the thought.

"Of course not. I wouldn't have banished your body into the lake, just close to the shore. You know, so someone could find you. Feel better, now?" Harry asked, a smile flitting about his lips as he struggled to control his laughter as Draco's countenance shifted from relieved to appalled to aggravated.

Draco narrowed his eyes at Harry suspiciously, still unsure whether the other boy was telling the truth or having him on. He opted for another topic, "Where have you taken me?"

"An extra-special and ultra-secret hiding place. Shhhh! No telling!" Harry said with wide eyes and an exaggerated childish mischievousness in his voice. Draco quirked an eyebrow at him, crossed his arms, and stared at him imperiously.

Harry smirked and copied the stance for a moment before dropping all pretense and once again asking seriously, "You sure you want this, Malfoy?" Looking his once-supposed-nemesis up and down and pointing towards the single door in the room, he stated, "Once I take you through that door, there is no turning back. Are you sure you want this?"

Draco, too, dropped his stance, then, nodding slowly, answered back with equal seriousness, "Yes, I'm sure."

"This is a lifelong bond, Malfoy."

"I know. Call me Draco."

"Draco. We'll probably end up lovers by the end of the week, you do realize that, right?"

"Yes. I realize that. Harry."

"You're putting your very life in my hands."

"I trust you with it."