Letters

September: More of a Sway

A/N Okay, that dance wasn't a 'sway' but I liked it!

They were dancing under the stars on the terrace at the Manor. Well, it wasn't really starry yet; there was still a turquoise hue to the darkening early-September sky. And it was more of a 'sway' than a dance but, in Harry's mind, they were dancing under the stars.

Whitney Houston cheesily crooned softly 'I-yer-I... will always love you' in one ear because they were sharing the headphones from Draco's iPod. It was nearly enough to make one cringe but Harry didn't care, it had been a tough three days and this was exactly what he needed as he rested a cheek on Draco's shoulder and they swayed together in the deepening gloom of the nearly starry night. Whitney Houston faded into George Michael's Careless Whisper and Harry decided he really needed to have a word with Draco about his taste in muggle music, later though because now would be most inappropriate timing.

The iPod had been a surprise gift for Draco and these days he was rarely seen without it. After Draco had heard about Peanut's running blade, he became a little intrigued about muggle inventiveness, asking all sorts of questions in a rather Arthur Weasley kind of way. So, Harry decided to give Draco the iPod for Christmas eighteenth months after Draco's house arrest started, just to blow his mind. He presented it in person with written instructions about charging it and where to plug in the headphones, how to play music and fast forward or rewind or shuffle, how to upload music and make playlists.

Once more, Harry had broken through the Manor's Wards using the replica Harry-shaped keyhole. It was just before midnight on Christmas Eve, when he judiciously felt his way through, once more carefully checking that he wouldn't trigger any alarms. The Manor was in absolute darkness as he strode up the gravel driveway, a 'Muffliato' cast to mask his footsteps. He did have his invisibility cloak stuffed in his winter coat pocket but he didn't bother to wear it this time. Instead, he walked into the Manor as if he owned the place, the locked door barely causing him to pause in his stride. Once inside, he cast a soft 'Lumos' and a ball of light hovered near his head and he positively skipped up the grand staircase, along the corridor, and slipped through Draco's bedroom door, closing it softly behind him. Draco was already fast asleep (because he wasn't expecting a guest, what with house arrest and isolation and everything) and Harry thought, albeit briefly, it was almost a shame to wake him. He looked so peaceful when asleep. Nearly angelic, Harry thought, with his now shoulder-length blond hair spread messily across his pillow. Then Harry grinned wickedly because he knew Draco was no angel and he was definitely going to wake him up. He discarded his long black coat onto the floor and perched on the edge of Draco's bed next to his hip before quietly whispering his name.

Draco jumped out of his skin. 'Fuck!' he bemoaned as his heartrate hit the ceiling and pushed himself into a seated position. 'Fuck, Potter!' He scrubbed his hand through his long, unruly, bed-hair. 'What is it with you? Are you some fucking perv who likes to watch people sleep?'

Harry snorted and wryly thought only you. He pushed the thought aside even though he'd long since admitted his feelings for Draco (to Severus only, though he suspected his close friends all knew) and said, 'I thought I'd deliver your Christmas present in person and you said next time I was to wake you.'

He couldn't stop himself from reaching forward and tucking some of the long blond hair behind Draco's ear. He hurried pulled his hand away, conscious of the intimacy of such a gesture. Draco looked different with long hair and Harry wasn't entirely sure he liked it, it just wasn't 'Malfoy', but it wasn't his place to judge and, besides, the constant moan in Draco's letters that isolation meant no haircuts inevitably led to Harry feeling justified in his aversion to it too. Harry, Hermione, and Peanut tried to find him some spells but Draco didn't dare try in case something awful and irreversible happened.