Because I Deserve It - Drarry

Chapter 24

Harry shivered, the frigid air blasting his face as they exited the tavern. He eyed Draco, who had his hands shoved deep into his pockets, and lamented the lack of pockets in his outer robes. He absolutely had to get new ones. For now, though, he settled for slipping his right hand into Draco's left pocket and letting the other one succumb to frostbite. No one needed two hands anyway. 

"Argh!" Draco yelped as he felt the block of ice wrap around his unfortunate appendage. He leveled a positively menacing glare at Harry, but the latter did not care one bit. Grumbling, Draco allowed Harry's hand to remain in his pocket and even held it tight so it would warm up faster. In such a manner, they awkwardly walked and occasionally stumbled through the village. They didn't have any destination in mind, but their teenage stomachs were leading them vaguely in the direction of Honeydukes.

Suddenly, a voice called, "Wait up, you two!" Trying to turn around without separating was difficult, and they nearly fell over, but they eventually managed and saw Pansy Parkinson striding over towards them. 

"Hey Dray, Potter," she greeted. Harry glanced sideways at the blond at the nickname, but Draco ignored him, glowering at Parkinson instead.

Without stopping, she grabbed Harry's arm and started dragging him off. "You don't mind if I borrow Potter for a bit, do you? No? Okay, good; I'll be just a minute, then you can have your precious boy toy back." She yanked him with such force that she ripped his hand out of Draco's, and she hauled him about ten meters away, just out of Draco's hearing range.

"Okay, Potter, I'm going to make this quick, before Dray comes over here and murders me." She scowled at him with the force of a million stampeding erumpets. "You better make this date good. He'll never admit it, but he's a romantic type, and he cares about these things. If this is boring, he'll wait until you're married with kids and tell them you were a terrible boyfriend and they shouldn't listen to any of your advice. He'll bring it up in arguments and use it as leverage. He's petty like that, we all are." She looked over his shoulder at Draco, eyes softening, then back at Harry. "Be good to him, and he'll repay you a million times over. He cares about you, Potter, so make sure you deserve it." With that, she flounced off, pushing past him.

He froze. Parkinson had never been this close to him, so maybe that's why he had never known. Subconsciously, though, he must have detected it, that oh-so-familiar flowery scent. Ginny's perfume. Parkinson must use it too.

Suddenly, Harry understood.

It had never been Ginny's scent in the Amortentia in Sixth Year. Everyone knows how close Parkinson and Draco had been that year; they were around each other all the time. It wouldn't have been improbable for the blond to pick up traces of her smell. Harry was following Draco so much that year that he must have noticed it, even if he didn't identify it.

It had always been Draco, hadn't it?

----------------

Draco walked up to Harry, who was staring blankly into the distance. "Hey," he said, eliciting no reaction. He frowned. "What did she say to you?" He demanded. 

Harry shook himself and smiled unsteadily. "Nothing," he assured Draco, but he wasn't having it. "Obviously something has you this shaken up. What did she do?" He said through gritted teeth. Harry sighed. "It wasn't her. She was actually pretty helpful in that Slytherin way you guys have. You know, with that backhanded kindness. It's just-" he hesitated "-her perfume." His eyes became unfocused once more. "It made me understand."

"Understand what?" Draco asked frustratedly. Harry shook his head and looked right at him, a real smile on his face now. "I'll tell you later, I promise. But for now, let's go to Honeydukes. I hear they have a new line of truffles."