Bouquet of Knives Book One

Chapter One

Harry's POV

Ever since I came to Hogwarts, Draco Malfoy and I have been enemies. There was no one I hated more than him. He knew how to get under my skin and piss me off unlike anyone else. He's always trying to find new ways to do it, sometimes stretching his limits. He thought he was better than anyone else because he was a pure-blood, a Malfoy. Even in our fifth year he is still trying to get at me.

The worst thing about him, though, wasn't how he sneered at me. It wasn't how he would insult me and it wasn't how he treated me. It was how he made me feel. As silly or absurd as that sounds, it's true. I noticed the feelings around my third year, perhaps, when I started to miss his tauntings during times when I'm alone. I found myself thinking more about him with each passing day until I finally realized the feelings. I've tried to suppress them, push them back into the dark corner where they came from but they only came back stronger.

I didn't want to believe that I was gay, especially for the one man I couldn't stand. I've heard about how opposites attract but I didn't think it was a real thing. I mean how can anyone have feelings for that abomination? Apparently me but that's besides the point. I shouldn't have feelings for him, yet I do. I was confused about the whole thing but the only ones who know about it are Hermione and Ron. No one else needs to know. I would prefer it if I didn't know either.

"Harry?" Hermione calls my name, pulling me out of my thoughts. "Are you not hungry?" She glances at my dinner plate then back up to my eyes.

"Not really," I say as I pick at the food. I was too busy trying to figure out why these feelings exist. I look up across the tables to the Slytherin area, seeing Draco staring directly at me. His ice cold stare seemed to burn through me, his sneer forming on his face. I try to break the eye contact but it was as if he had me in a trance, like I was under a spell. I couldn't turn away from him, as hard as I tried. It wasn't until he turned away that I was able to look away. I excuse myself from the table, telling Hermione and Ron that I needed fresh air. Which wasn't a complete lie considering I could really use the refresher.

Once I was outside of the Great Hall, I lean against the wall and lay my head back. It was frustrating feeling this... itch in my skin when he looked at me. The butterflies that seemed to go erratic whenever those icy gray eyes would gaze at me. Even if it was a spiteful stare they went nuts. Absolutely berserk. And my heart would beat faster whenever he came close to me. It often times felt like it would beat too fast and jump out of my chest. It was an awful feeling. An awful feeling that I enjoyed so much.

If there was a way for me to just... touch him. Run my hands through his blond hair that seems so soft, kiss his pink lips. I've only dreamed of those things. The fantasy of him letting me do with him what I damn well pleased. It was all so overwhelming. Especially now when I shouldn't be thinking about this at all. I shouldn't dare think of those things when I'm not in the safety of my dormitory. It was too risky.

"Potter, what are you doing out here?" Draco appears in front of me and my heart jumps into my throat, words becoming forgotten. I open my mouth to speak but nothing comes out. "What is your problem, Potter?" When I don't reply, Draco smirks. It wasn't a good smirk, more of an evil or mischievous one. "I know your secret," he starts to walk away. I was frozen solid at first, the thoughts running through my head as I stood there. I run after him once I finally had control of my body.

"What secret, Malfoy?" I ask, catching up to him.

"A very shocking one," he stops and turns to me, looking down with those ice cold eyes. His face was relaxed for a second before he contorts it into a hard expression.

"What secret?" I growl, growing frustrated with him. He smirks and leans closer to me, close enough to my ear to where I can feel his breath tickle my ear. My heart stutters, the butterflies growing in my stomach. He shoves me back against the wall beside us, stepping close to me. His hand was flat against the wall beside my head as he leaned close enough that our lips were nearly grazing.

"This one," he remains unmoving, lips barely grazing before he pulls back. "You really are pathetic, Potter," he looks down at me in contempt but behind his eyes was something else. I took the chance and grabbed him by the collar, pulling him closer. I pull him down so his face was inches from mine. I could see the conflicted look in his eyes, the emotions dancing over each other as he looked into my eyes.

"I am not pathetic," I snarl before crashing our lips together. My heart was pounding against my chest but my mind was taking control, deciding to pull back. I look at Draco for a couple of seconds, taking in his shocked expression. I turn and walk back into the Great Hall, rejoining Hermione and Ron.

"What took so long?" Ron asks, Hermione nodding. I look down at the table before lowering my voice so only they could hear.

"I kissed Malfoy," I looked up into their shocked and horrified gazes.

"You what?" Hermione looks at me in disbelief, shaking her head when I remain quiet. I was just glad it was the end of the day so I can go to the dormitory without worrying about bumping into Draco. I'm not sure I could face him right now. It was hard enough that I had the image of him implanted in my brain, not to mention how smooth his lips were. They were slightly wet but it wasn't too much. I wanted to touch those lips again... Feel them move against mine like they had during our brief kiss.

I hurried off to the dormitories along with everyone else, wanting to bury my face in my pillow. I shouldn't have done what I did. It was wrong and it probably was going to kick me in the future. I was sure that Draco would use it against me. Wouldn't he?

Someone bumped into me, something tickling against my palm. I look down and see a piece of folded paper nestled in my hand. I tighten my grip around it as I make my way to my dormitory. When I was on my bed, I carefully opened the note. On it was scribbled "Room of Requirements 7 a.m." at the bottom of the paper were the initials DM. I didn't know which emotion I felt more of: fear or excitement or nervous. He was either going to be very angry or very pleased and with Draco, it was never the latter.

I laid down to sleep but I kept thinking about Draco and the note. I thought about the interaction we had earlier in the halls. How could I sleep when I had him on my mind? When all I wanted was to ravish him. Shut up, I tell myself. I will myself to sleep, trying to put Draco from my mind. I eventually do fall asleep after what felt like hours of restlessness.