Bonded

Bonded

Bonded

Harry/Draco, Pansy/Hermione

ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/35392933/chapters/88219483

Summary: Harry gets assigned the most boring Auror case in the world with the most horrible partner. Featuring a certain blonde nemesis, ancient magic bonds, a dragon, and a little too much Pansy/Hermione love (in Harry’s opinion).

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4 

Saturday morning Harry refuses to attend his magical testing at St Mungo’s. He sleeps in as late as possible. When the sunlight through his curtain finally forces him out of bed he jams on running clothes and runs for over an hour. Every time he catches a glimpse of blonde hair he’s convinced it’s Draco and the panic of it all makes him run faster and harder than ever.

When he returns he showers before sinking boneless back into bed. He reads a novel and fixes himself a sandwich for dinner bringing it back to his room to eat away from the prying eyes of his friends. As he scampers up the stairs he hears Neville in the sitting room ask Hermione in a hushed voice “What’s wrong with Harry?”

“Oh you know the usual.” He hears Hermione respond “He had an altercation with Malfoy at the pub. Now they’re both stewing over it.”

Harry rushes up the stairs before he can hear Neville's answer. He can’t believe Hermione’s got it so wrong obviously he’s not upset about Malfoy. He’s upset about the ancient magic bonding them.

He eats his sandwich in the silence of his room, stewing in rage that Hermione thinks Draco is strong enough to have this type of effect on him.

That night he dreams about Draco again.

~~~~~~~

Sunday follows the exact same pattern as the day before.

On Monday and Tuesday he calls out sick from work and goes on long hikes that last most of the day. He tells himself that he’s getting in touch with the natural world but deep down he knows that he’s doing it to avoid Hermione's wrath.

On Wednesday he wakes early to Hermione prodding him with her wand. She is dressed for work and her face is stern.

“Get up Harry. You can’t keep calling out of work. This is ridiculous. I know Draco hurt you but this is insane.” Harry grumbles and turns his face back into his pillows. Hermione casts an aguamenti charm spraying his face with ice cold water.

“Hey!” Harry yells in protest sitting up ramrod straight in bed.

“I’m just trying to help you get your life together.” Hermione huffs sitting down on the edge of his bed. “You need to get up and shower. We have a meeting at St Mungos in half an hour. I’ve done some research on your bond with Draco and I have some theories.”

“Ugh. Any theories that’ll erase Malfoy from my life forever?” Harry mumbles his heart icy at the thought of seeing Draco again.

“Nope.” Hermione responds primly pulling the covers off him. “But you’ll want to shower I assume, since Malfoy will be at the meeting.”

“If he’s there I’m not going.” Harry spits stubbornly refusing to roll out of bed.

“If you don’t stop acting like a child I’m sending Pansy up here and you know she’ll be a lot less nice about getting you out of bed.” Hermione threatens.

Harry would really rather not talk to Pansy. Especially since he’s only wearing a pair of boxers covered in flaming snitches that Theo had gotten him as a birthday gift.

“Fine, I’ll go shower.” He concedes pushing his body up out of bed and strolling to the bathroom door.

“Thank god.” Hermione signs. “I’ll see you downstairs in 15 minutes.”

Harry arrives downstairs in 20 minutes because he’s really quite a petty person and if Draco can walk out on him in a bar Draco can wait a couple extra minutes in the St Mungos waiting room.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~

When they arrive in the conference room at St Mungo's Pansy and Draco are already there. Draco is staring at the floor desolately and refuses to look up when Hermione greets him. He does mumble a small greeting back. Harry assumes it is only his pureblood manners talking.

Harry ignores Draco and sits down in the chair furthest away from him. He focuses on Hermione and the St Mungo's healer at the front of the room and forbids himself from even so much as glancing in Draco's direction.

About three minutes later he catches himself breaking his promise as he watches Draco shove limp blonde hair behind his ears. He notices the bruised skin under Draco's eyes and wonders if he hasn’t been sleeping well. Hermione clears her throat at the front of the room and he scrambles to look back at her, pretending he wasn’t watching Draco at all.

Hermione explains she’s done some research and found a similar case of ancient bond magic in an auror pair 20 years ago. She says that the paper she read detailed diagnostic charms to make sure that the bond magic is directed solely through the scar tissue like him and Draco had hypothesized

She directs them to stand next to each other and touch scars. Heat boils in Harry's stomach and he feels like there’s a magnet in his chest pulling him towards Draco but all the people in the room are distracting and Draco is still refusing to meet his eyes so this time he finds it easier to ignore the bond magic. He focuses intently on the floor in front of him and uses all his strength to keep from reaching for Draco with his other hand.

He’s focusing so hard that he loses track of how long they’ve been there. Hermione’s directing the St Mungo's healer through a series of diagnostic charms. Their wands work in tandem to pluck at multi-colored strings of magic and examine them before placing them back into the air.

At one point Harry notices Pansy hovering at the door and glaring at him and Draco as if daring them to try and leave.

Finally when Harry’s bones are aching and he’s started to realistically consider giving into the magnetism of Draco’s body Hermione announces that the diagnostics are done and they can drop hands.

Harry finds himself feeling a little disappointed. He ignores it.

Draco drops Harry's hand like he's been burned and quickly sits back down. Harry notices that he's breathing hard and his fingertips are trembling. Ha! He thinks, just like Draco, to be too weak to properly fight a bond.

Then Harry looks down at his own fingertips and realizes he’s trembling as well. He feels suddenly a hell of a lot less cocky and slouches in his chair praying Hermione will let them leave.

“Just as I thought!” Hermione announces happily. “The bond doesn’t affect either of you or your magic unless your scars are directly touching. So you should be able to go back to working normally.”

Harry watches as Draco’s face turns paper white. He turns to Harry and their eye contact is frantic, charged. Draco pushes himself up out of his chair and practically runs for the exit. Pansy follows.

Harry remains frozen in his chair.

“ I um. I thought that was going to be good news?” Hermione hesitantly says, walking over to Harry. “Why did Draco act like it was the end of the world?”

Harry gives in and explains the night at the bar. He tells her about the way the air feels charged when he and Draco touch, The way he can’t stop dreaming about Draco. He tells her he doesn’t know what to do. Tells her that if the bond doesn’t make them want each other than something else must and maybe to Draco that is the end of the world. Because a Death Eater and the Savior would never work out would it?

Hermione listens and nods and comforts him. She rubs his back as he tells her the hard parts and afterwards Harry finds himself feeling drained and empty but somehow relieved. Hermione convinces him to apparate home and they drink tea again. This time there’s a lot more talking and a lot less avoidant mumbling. Harry wishes he had confided in Hermione earlier but it’s such an embarrassing concept falling for one’s nemesis. He can’t believe that’s what he’s done.

Hermione tells him she’ll always be there for him and thanks him for opening up. Then she disappears upstairs. Harry is suspicious that she’s firecalling Pansy. But what can he do about it? He can’t quite tell her that she's not allowed to talk to her girlfriend.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The next day Harry goes to work. Mostly because Hermione explains that he’ll have to face Draco at some point. Also because she explains that if he doesn’t she’ll tell Kingsley about how many of his St Mungos appointments he’s missed this week.

He arrives at the office to find Draco’s called out sick. Kingsley assigns him to paperwork all day since Aurors can’t do field duty without a partner.

When he questions Kingsley about Draco’s illness. Kingsley says “He must have caught whatever you had earlier this week” and stares at him pointedly until Harry mumbles his agreement and flees the office.

He spends his day reading case files and accidentally drawing pictures of men with blonde hair in the margins. He spends half an hour digging through his desk to find whiteout to cover said drawings. He paces the floor, sticking his head into offices of his fellow Aurors and catching up. It’s a fine day but he finds himself searching for a flash of blonde hair around every corner.

The next day is much the same. Draco calls out sick again. Harry spends the whole day with his heart in his throat watching the hallway for him.

~~~~~~~~~~

Harry only goes to pub night that night because Hermione pinky promises him Draco won’t be in attendance.

Attempting to use multicolored cocktails to numb his internal turmoil he drinks himself into quite a state early in the night. Pansy and Hermione are so happy together it makes him sick and he’s too drunk to listen to the way Neville is lecturing Ginny and Theo on South African plants so he throws himself onto the dance floor and makes it a goal to dance with as many attractive people as possible. If Draco doesn’t want him that’s fine. He’s sure there are many others who do.

Harry’s correct. He dances with an assortment of pretty people. None of them make his skin sing like Draco does but he ignores it. The ebb and flow of bodies feels nice against him and he loses himself in the music. A tall blonde man appears in front of him and wraps his arms around Harry’s waist pulling him in. He smells like brown sugar and Harry’s body doesn’t feel like a live wire against his. It’s kind of a relief. He feels in control, unaffected. Harry leans in, pushes up against him, reveling in the slide of skin against his.

Suddenly the man releases him and vanishes into the crowd. Harry looks up confused and his eyes clash against steely grey ones.

“You’re not supposed to be here.” he growls, shoving Draco’s chest hard.

“I know.” Draco says looking just as frustrated as he pushes Harry’s arms away from him.

“This is all your fault Potter,'' he spits.

Then all at once he's leaning in and Harry can’t tell if he’s about to be shoved or kissed and he freezes. Their lips meet in a bruising kiss. Draco is biting Harry’s lip so hard it might bleed and he’s leaning into it. Their arms grapple pushing at each other until hands slide under shirts to meet warm sticky skin.

Harry spins on his heel and apparates them straight into his bedroom. Draco doesn’t even pause to look around; he's focused on mouthing at Harry’’s neck as he pushes his shirt up over his head.

They fall onto the bed in a tangle of limbs and heat. Draco touches him, harsh and angry. Harry responds, pushing back against him, craving more. They move in tandem. All hot breath and whispered words.

As their clothes come off and skin meets skin Harry watches as magic ricochets in bright flashes across the room. He watches in awe for a second before turning back to the lean pale body in front of him. He pulls him close and loses himself in an ocean of gray eyes and tender skin. He thinks he can never get enough of this.

~~~~~~~~

The next morning he wakes to an empty bed. The sheets are cold beside him and every trace of Draco has vanished from the room. It’s like he was never there.

A heavy ache rises in the pit of Harry’s stomach. He forces himself to ignore it.

He goes on a long run and naps until dinner. He forces himself downstairs to eat because he knows if he mopes too long everyone will get suspicious about the Malfoy situation all over again and he really doesn’t want them figuring out what's transpired in the last 24 hours.

He traipses down the stairs and slides into his seat at the table reveling for a second in the cheerful chatter of his friends and the clatter of silverware.

“Curry?” Ginny offers. “Pansy made it.”

“Sure,” Harry reaches for the large platter.

As he grasps it in his hands and starts to pull it closer to him Theo interrupts conversationally “So, Harry. Anything to say about Draco Malfoy sleeping over last night?”

The table immediately goes dead silent. Harry’s hands tighten on the porcelain platter a second too late and it falls to the floor. It shatters on impact and the loud noise makes everyone jump and reach for their wands. Curry spread out across the dining room floor and a bright yellow stain. It still looks delicious spread out across the floor and Harry’s so hungry he could cry. “No comment” He responds tightly casting spells to mend the palter and vanish the curry from the floor.

“There’s more curry in the kitchen, I'll just go grab it.” Pansy soothes rushing from the room.

“You can’t go all no comment on us.” Ginny whines. “When me and Luna hooked up last month you made me give you all the details.”

“That's totally different.” Harry scoffs, “You’d been obsessed with Luna for an entire year. There was a whole build up to it you couldn’t just stop giving us details.”

“Oh like you haven’t been obsessed with Draco for literally your entire time as a wizard.”

“That’s different. He’s my nemesis.”

“No. Voldemort was your nemesis and you still cared about Draco Malfoy ten times more than him.”

“I don’t CARE about Malfoy.” Harry explodes pushing back from the table.

“You must a little. You did sleep with him.” Hermione interrupts serenely from across the table.

Something sinks in Harry’s chest. He tries to channel the anger and hatred he’d felt towards Malfoy at school and he can’t quite reach it. Fine maybe he does care about the blonde git. But only a little. And there’s no way he’s admitting that to his friends.

“Yes.” Theo adds mildly. “You’d have to be insane to sleep with someone you actually adamantly hated.”

“Alright, alright.” Harry holds his hands over his head in defeat and watches as Pansy levitates a fresh curry out of the kitchen. “Maybe I don’t hate Malfoy as much as I used to. But that doesn’t change anything.”

“Ahh.” Pansy exclaims mysteriously. “I think it might.”

Harry ignores her and focuses on spooning his curry carefully onto his plate.

“So, how was the sex?” Ginny asks, always the brash one.

“I’m not talking about it.” Harry clenches his jaw and glares furiously down at his plate.

“Come on just a few details? Malfoy’s quite fit.” Neville chimes in grinning.

“No! It’s not important. It didn’t mean anything.” Harry thinks about how he’ll never touch Malfoy again and suddenly feels nauseous. “I’m feeling a little sick, I’m going up to lay down.” He shoves his chair into the table with a tad more force than necessary shaking the plates and cups and turns storming up the stairs to his room. As he disappears he hears Hermione say, “You really should be more gentle on him. I think he’s quite shocked about the outcome of things.”

Pansy responds, “Quite shocked? I have a hard time believing anyone is quite shocked. The tension has been building between them since the first year.”

Harry slams his bedroom door shut, shaking the walls. Pansy is so completely wrong. How could anyone have seen this coming. He doesn’t even like looking at Draco.

He thinks again about the delicate features of Draco's face. The hypnotic swirls of his ever changing eyes and okay maybe he’s wrong. Maybe he does like to look at Draco but that doesn’t MEAN anything.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry wakes up early the next morning. Mostly because Hermione is standing at the food of his bed yelling “Harry! Wake up you git. Kingsleys calling you in today.”

“Um. What?” Harry mumbles sleepily attempting to disappear under his pillows.

“You have to get up.” Hermione states, flat and impatient. “There’s a dragon loose in Scotland. It’s set a town on fire already. Kingsley's calling you and Malfoy in. You need to leave as soon as possible.”

“Ugh. That's so unfair. Why can’t someone else deal with it.”

“It’s actually completely fair because neither you or Draco did a single piece of work all last week.” Hermione says primly, throwing his Auror robes at him.

“I did some paperwork.” Harry tells her haughtily, rolling out of bed and pulling on his robes.

“Oh did you?” Hermione questions looking cheerful. “Or did you just doodle on the margins of case notes like you always do?”

“Fine.” Harry mumbles chagrined, “I didn’t do much last week but I was going through serious emotional strife.”

“I wouldn’t call wanting to fuck someone serious emotional strife.” Hermione says snidely ushering him out of his room.

“Pansy really is rubbing off on you.” Harry retorts.

Hermione directs him to the portkey sitting in the hallway and he places his hand on it. Immediately the walls start spinning around him.

When his stomach stops feeling like it’s being turned inside out he opens his eyes and finds himself standing at the top of a green grassy hill. Below him a village is burning. He turns to his right to find Draco watching him, a guarded look in his eyes.

“So, we have to stop the dragon.” Harry says by way of greeting.

“Yes.” Draco’s tone is clipped and he’s still watching Harry with suspicious eyes.

“Okay so if we use the bond we should be able to encapsulate it in a holding charm of some sort until Charlie gets here to collect it.” Harry says flatly, trying to act as normal as possible.

“I’m not using the stupid bond.” Draco spits at him childishly.

“Why not? This is what bond magic was originally used for.” Harry scratches the back of his neck feeling awkward.

“Because we don’t need the bond.” Draco’s face is twisting into a familiar grimace. “In fact I don’t even need you. Don’t know why Kingsley sent you out here, you're good for nothing.” He turns and starts to stride down the hill away from Harry.

If this had happened even a month ago Harry might have fallen for it but by now he’s studied Draco, seen him with less of a guard up. He recognizes that grimace from when they were children. Back then he thought Draco only looked like that when he was angry, when he wanted to hurt someone, but now Harry knows better.

He knows better and in a split second he’s caught up to Draco and grabbed his wrist twisting him back towards him.

“Is that really why you don’t want me here Draco?” He spits, voice hoarse and cracking. “Because to me it seems like you’re just scared.”

Draco’s eyes meet his wild and defiant. “Of course not Potter, how could I ever be afraid of you. You’re nothing to me.”

“Really?” Harry takes a step closer to Draco and thinks he can see his fingertips trembling. “Because it doesn’t feel like nothing.” He reaches up and caresses Draco’s cheek leaning in.

Then abruptly he’s airborne.

At first he thinks Draco’s hexed him but when he looks back and sees horror spilling across his face he realizes this couldn’t have been something Draco did. In fact Draco looks worried for him.

His body relaxes and he starts to feel relief. His brief sense of calm is quickly washed away when he looks down at his chest and realizes that he’s slowly being crushed in a large set of talons. He looks up to find he’s staring at the underbelly of a dragon.

Harry quickly casts a quick incareous binding the dragon talons around him. After all he doesn’t want to risk getting dropped onto the burning town below.

He watches as below Draco casts a patronus. He never knew Draco could cast a patronus but he guesses Draco wouldn’t have been allowed through Auror training without learning one. He watches as the silver cloud blooms out of the end of his wand and forms into a fawn. Harry thinks it looks weak and helpless standing there on it’s long spindly legs. He watches as Draco speaks to it, sending it for backup he assumes. He watches as it disappears into the mountains behind him.

It’s only after the patronus disappears that the importance of the fawn shocks him. He freezes silent in the hold of the dragon as he watches the sunlight glint off of blonde hair beneath him. Suddenly he’s certain of just how much Draco’s been lying about.

He feels a sharp jab of pain run through his chest and looks down to see the rough red talons closing even tighter on his body. The jagged edge of a claw catches on his shirt and presses down.

Harry watches as crimson red blossoms like a wine stair against his white shirt. The blood spreads quickly and he suddenly starts to feel dizzy with a combination of blood loss and the sight of scenery rushing past below him.

He twists looking below him for a glimpse of Draco. He catches a glimpse of red and black Auror robes to his left and watches Draco swiftly catch up to them on a broom. Draco yells something to him but it disappears into the wind. Harry tries to respond but his vision gets blurrier and blurrier and suddenly everything goes black.

~~~~~~~~~~

Harry wakes up in a hospital bed. He blinks his eyes slowly opening them. A gasp of relief to his left straddles him and as he swings his head to the side his gaze catches on a swatch of bright blonde hair.

“Draco?” He breathes quietly having a hard time believing his own eyes.

“Yes, It’s me.” Harry feels someone squeeze his hand. He looks down and watches as pale cool fingers wrap delicately around his tanned palm.

“I’m glad you’re here.” Oh no Harry didn’t mean to say that out loud. “The pain potions might be going to my head.” he adds quickly hoping to avoid scaring Draco away.

“No worries. I’m glad I could be here, you scared me.” Harry carefully watches Draco’s face and his expression seems genuine.

“I’m sorry Harry. I know I’ve been a right git about it but I do like you.” Draco looks sheepish and small. Harry can’t stop looking at him.

“That’s alright.” Harry responds nonchalantly. “I get it. It’s hard falling for your nemesis.”

“Who said I was falling for you?” Draco retorts, crossing his arms and making a face like he’s pretending not to care.

“I did.” Harry pulls Draco’s hand closer to him caressing it.

Draco falls silent letting Harry pull him closer. The room starts to get hazy again and Harry feels his meds pull him back to sleep.

When he wakes up the second time Draco is asleep next to him. The top half of his body is leaning off of his chair and onto the hospital bed. His golden locks spread halo-like against the pale green sheets. Harry cards his tan fingers through his glimmering hair and waits for Draco to wake up. Somehow he can just tell that Draco will never run from him again. Or at least if he does he'll always return.

“So, are you going to share that?” Harry asked, stretching his hand out towards Draco.

“Obviously not Harry. Your wine is up there far away.” Draco gestured at the desk grinning lazily before taking another large sip from his bottle.

Harry found his body buzzing with frustration and also a thrum of excitement. Before he could think about it he threw himself at Draco tackling him onto the floor.

The boys grappled frantically. Draco managed to wrap his arms around Harry, pinning his hands to his sides. Harry’s gaze was locked on the wine bottle. In a violent twisting movement he managed to free both his hands at once. He pushed against Draco’s chest as hard as he could, shoving him roughly into the ground. Draco’s back hit the floor in a loud smack and Harry clambered on top of him using his thighs to pin Draco’s legs together. Grinning maniacally Harry reached his hands towards the wine bottle in Draco’s left hand. In a quick movement Draco jerked the bottle away and Harry landed heavily, his hands bracketing Draco’s head.

At that moment their gazes locked. Suddenly Harry was no longer thinking about the bottle of wine.

Suddenly the only thing Harry could think about was the hot heat of Draco’s body beneath him and the depths of his grey eyes.

He froze watching Draco’s face. Draco’s gaze flickered, ghosting down across Harry’s lips and then back up to his eyes. Before Harry could stop himself he was leaning down. All at once their lips pressed together. The kiss felt like drowning in an oil spill. Dangerous like with one spark they would go up in flames. Harry lost himself in the warm brush of Draco’s lips against his. He shifted closer, draping his body over Draco trying to get as close to him as possible. Draco mirrored him, placing his cool broad hands on Harry’s waist and pulling him. Their bodies shifted against the floor in sync.

One of my fav excerpts from my new fic Infiltrate the Slytherins

Bonded

Harry/Draco, Pansy/Hermione

ao3 link: https://archiveofourown.org/works/35392933/chapters/88219483

Summary: Harry gets assigned the most boring Auror case in the world with the most horrible partner. Featuring a certain blonde nemesis, ancient magic bonds, a dragon, and a little too much Pansy/Hermione love (in Harry’s opinion).

Chapter 1

Chapter 2 

Chapter 3 

Harry awakes to the sound of metal doors clanging open and Pansy Parkinson's shrill voice yelling “What the hell!”

He blinks his eyes open and looks up dazedly to find Hermione and Pansy glaring at him with their arms crossed looking scarily similar.

Pansy strides up to them and grabs Draco by his collar, waking him up. Before he can even open his eyes she’s berating him, “How could you do something this dangerous Draco! I told you the tunnels were dangerous when you asked me about them?! And you wonder why Shakleboldt says you go on suicide missions?!”

“Ha! I told you Malfoy goes on suicide missions.” Harrys says to Hermione before meeting the steal in her eyes and thinking that perhaps now is not a time for jokes.

“Yes Harry but you’re on one too right now.” Hermione says looking pointed furious and glaring around the room.”

Suddenly the room grows quiet as both Pansy and Hermione’s gazes fall on their clasped hands at once. They exchange startled glances before Pansy glares at Harry.

“So what's this then Draco?” She speaks icily, gesturing to the bloody hands between them.

“Um, we’re in a weak magic zone so we combined magic for Harry to cast.” Draco looks chagrined.

“I did wonder about the dragon.” Pansy says haughtily looking a little relieved.

“Can you pull apart your hands now?” Hermione asks carefully, “I think we should get a look at your injuries.”

Harry meets Draco’s eyes startled that neither of them had thought to check their hands earlier and finds Draco looking equally confused. “Yeah sure”

They slowly pull their hands apart.

Hermione gasps.

Pansy says, “What the hell.” This time softer and a little awestruck.

Harry looks across at Draco’s face and watches the flickering blue light dance across it. He looks otherworldly and Harry just barely holds himself back from caressing his cheek. Instead he looks down focusing on the glowing blue lines etched across their palms and does his best to look concerned.

“What is this?” He asks softly, voice wavering as he watches Pansy and Hermione watch them.

“Draco, how did you bond your magic exactly?” Hermione says tentatively, never taking her gaze away from Harry’s face.

Draco explains the process and Harry tries to listen but he’s distracted by blue light reflecting in the depths of his grey eyes.

“Harry?” Hermione startles him and he breaks his gaze turning back to her. “Sorry what?”

“I’ve read about this sort of thing. It was common for wizards to share power in the medieval ages in order to fight bigger magical beasts. If I’m correct the glowing only happens in the dark and should fade over time. Your scar holds a bit of Draco’s magic and vice versa. I think if you hold hands you should be able to continue to share magic. It might tire you out though.” She cautions looking carefully between them. “I wouldn’t use it again unless you’re in a life or death situation.”

Harry looks across at Draco and finds his uncertainty mirrored.

Then Draco starts to look a bit cheerful. “You’re saying I’ve bonded magic with the Savior of the Wizarding world?”

Hermione nods at him confused.

“Aha!” He cackles. “This is great now, Shaklebodt can never fire me.”

“Our magic is bonded maybe forever and all you can think about is getting to keep your job?” Harry glances at Hermione who is glancing across at Pansy and finds them to be just as perplexed as he is.

“You’ve got to learn to look on the bright side of these things.” Draco says looking affronted. “I mean think of all the things we can do. “We have enough power to fight dragons.”

“You can’t actually use it for those things.” Hermione cautions. “If people find out about this type of bonding everyone will be doing it. It’ll cause power imbalances. In fact,” She sniffs. “It’s very dangerous. We’ll have to hope it fades.”

“Way to spoil the fun Granger.” Draco makes a face at her childishly.

“It’s important you know the details.” Pansy admonishes him, sharing a glance with Hermione.

The four of them tramp through the tunnel and back into the lobby. Hermione and Pansy insist that they report their magical development to Shacklebolt which makes Harry and Draco moan and groan and drag their feet across the marble floor.

Hermione and Pansy walk them all the way to his office door like untrustworthy little jailers and invite themselves into the meeting. Harry and Draco make childish faces at them every time they turn their backs until Shacklebolt catches them and asks if their bond has caused facial twitching. Harry and Draco pretend not to know what he means.

~~~~~~~~~

“I can’t believe he kicked us off the safest, most boring Auror case ever.” Harry says when they’ve been ejected back into the hallway and the heavy oak door has slammed behind them.

“It’s important that they observe your magic for a couple weeks to make sure it’s still stable” Hermione sniffs at him sounding haughty. Harry starts to think Pansy is rubbing off on her.

“So we just have to sit around in our offices doing nothing for two weeks?” Harry asks grumpily.

“No. Shakleboldt said you’re going straight to St. Mungos for a couple hours of observation and then they’re making you do magical testing every weekday to make sure your magic is still fine.” Pansy states flatly looking at him with mild concern. “Do you have hearing problems? He just told us this during the meeting.”

“Ha!” Draco says, sounding hysterically amused. “I told you. You never listen to anything Shakeboldt says Harry.”

“I have more important things to think about.” Harry says dramatically quickening his pace down the corridor.

They break off from Pansy and Hermione towards the floos and Hermione calls after them “Don’t forget to meet us at Dragon's Lair when Mungos releases you! Its pub night after all.”

Huh, it is Friday Harry ponders as he steps into the floo beside Draco.

~~~~~~~~~~~

The healers at Mungos take them into a small room eager to poke and prod them with spells. They cast diagnostic after diagnostic, picking at the golden and blue strands of their magic until Harry and Draco are looking at them blurry eyed with boredom only pausing to roll their eyes at each other periodically. Finally after an hour of tests the healers proclaim their magic “stable for now” and click the door behind them leaving Harry and Draco alone in the blinding white room to wait out the last three hours of their observation.

“And I thought our case couldn’t get more boring.” Harry mutters staring at the medical posters splayed across the walls.

“I wish I had my ministry model to work on.” Draco says echoing his sentiment as he kicks his legs back and forth off of the examining table.

“This is such a waste of time” Harry grumbles getting up to look at the medical tools on the counter.

“Should we try our new powers?” Draco says, cocking an eyebrow at him.

“Why not?” Harry steps closer until he’s facing Draco who’s still perched on the examining table. Stealing himself he moves in until he’s bracketed by Draco’s legs and extends his hand towards him.

Draco hesitantly reaches his own hand forward. Gently placing it down across Harry’s palm.

Their scars touch and the air around them starts to crackle like fireworks. The heat of their palms draws them in. Unknowingly they shift closer. Harry’s other palm comes to Draco’s waist and they lean into the dense sparkling warmth of each other's bodies.

Harry find himself hypnotized as the gentle gray of Draco’s eyes swirl before him. He leans in and watches as Draco’s eyelids flutter.

Suddenly Draco is shifting against him and Harry leans in further before he realizes that Draco is trying to shove him away. He stumbles, feet tripping over each other until his back hits the wall behind him. As he becomes aware of his surroundings he realizes that his clothes are smoldering.

“I… Um. Sorry” he spits out taking in the shaken expression that’s fallen across Draco’s pale face.

“Its uh, It’s alright.” Draco stumbles over his words, flustered “Should we maybe try touching again without our scars touching? To make sure it’s them causing this?” Draco suggests hesitantly. “Er okay,” Harry steps nervously forward and extends his other hand. He hopes Draco doesn’t notice he’s shaking slightly.

When Draco slips his long slender finger through Harry’s shorter brown ones the rushing heat fills Harry's head once again. He looks up and is captured by Draco’s gaze. His tongue flits over his lips and he’s about to give in, letting himself fall over the precipice that is Draco’s warmth when he realizes that Draco’s face is coached perfectly blank and his eyes are cold.

His heart drops to his stomach. He realizes maybe Draco doesn’t feel what he feels so he shoves his feeling into the back of his head and steals himself to pretend. He glances back into those beautiful grey eyes with a challenging expression and wills himself not to feel. It works, he thinks because Draco drops his hand as if he’s been stung.

“Well good.” Draco says flatly. “Looks like it only happens when our scars touch.We’ll just have to avoid that whenever possible.”

Harry spends the rest of their time at St Mungo's feeling shell shocked and empty. He studiously ignores the way Draco’s hair falls in soft waves against his neck and the way his heart expands when Draco gets excited explaining the next phase of his cardboard model.

Harry wonders when he started noticing these things about the blonde man in front of him and can’t quite place it. He wonders if it happened when he first tumbled off of the library shelves and Draco was on the ground waiting for him, arms extended. He wonders if it was during the fight that had cracked his scar open onto Draco’s desk, when he’d first realized Draco looked like an angel.

He wonders how he hadn’t realized it. How Draco had snuck up on him and made him feel like this. Sudden anger hits him like a sucker punch. His world is on fire and he’s burning with it. Draco shouldn’t be allowed to make him feel like this. Draco, his nemesis. Draco, bonded to him through ancient magic. Draco, who goes from sullen to cheerful with the flick of a switch.

Suddenly Harry can’t trust himself in a room with Draco. He clenches his fists, tries to breathe but within seconds he’s standing and snatching his wand from the counter beside them. Without a word he turns to the door and storms out.

Harry wanders the cold winter streets until his hands go numb and his cheeks are red against his tanned skin. He watches as his boots leave crisp prints in the snow and wishes that somehow things could be easy.

Eventually the sun dips low on the horizon and the sky darkens. When the street lamps around him click on he decides it’s time to head home.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry steps into the sitting room to find Hermione waiting for him. She’s dressed in going out clothes. A skin tight green dress and high heels, her dark velvety robes draped over her shoulders like the night sky. “Well you took forever.” She snorts, turning towards him, arms crossed firmly over her chest. “You remember its pub night tonight?”

“I needed some time to think.”

She continues as if he hasn’t even opened his mouth.“You know I really thought working with Malfoy would be good for you. Wake you up a bit, give you a new perspective. But instead I find myself increasingly unsurprised to find you acting like it’s sixth year again. I mean come on Harry. Walking out of a medical supervision period? Risking your life instead of sitting peacefully in a room with Malfoy is completely insane.”

Harry rocks back on his heels and keeps his mouth shut. It’s completely unhelpful to do anything other than agree with Hermione when she’s in a ranting mood.

“And Kingsley’s already owled to say he’s forgiven you. How does that man expect you to grow up when he keeps supporting this immaturity?!” She throws her hands up in the arm exasperated.

“Sorry ‘Mione I know I shouldn’t have” Harry mumbles throwing himself down into one of the armchairs. “Being bonded to my nemesis was a lot to handle and I needed some air.”

Hermione looks at him suspiciously and he can tell she doesn’t buy his explanation. She sighs and sits next to him. “I know it’s a lot to handle Harry and I’m sorry for berating you. I just wish you and Draco could figure things out as easily as me and Pansy have. I mean I can’t believe we weren’t friends earlier.”

“Being friends with Draco is never going to be that easy.”

“It might, you never know.”

Harry tries to picture being friends with Draco Malfoy but all he can think about is the hot heat in the examining room and his tanned palms against long pale fingers.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Harry arrives at pub night and marches through the crowd straight towards Hermione’s tousled curls.

“Look I’m here, just as I promised.” He says as cheerfully as he can muster before looking down and doing a double take.

“Um.” He pauses searching for words. “Are you two holding hands?”

“Yes.” Pansy responds serenely, lifting their clasped hands and pushing them into his face.

“Would you like a drink Harry?” Hermione asks swiftly, a light blush coloring her cheeks.

Before Harry can even respond she’s shoving a large blue cocktail into his hand. “We have some extras, a man kept sending drinks to Pansy.”

“What can I say? I'm irresistible.” Pansy grins unapologetically across at Hermione.

“Yes, and now we have all these drinks to show for it.” Harry notices that Hermione is slurring her words slightly as she gestures to the array of brightly colored drinks on the table. “Ginny and Theo have claimed those purple ones but all the others are up for grabs.

Harry glances out onto the dance floor and notices Theo and Ginny laughing heads thrown back as they twirl each other through the colored lights of the dance floor.

“I know you’re plying me with drinks to distract me from the hand holding Hermione” He says suddenly feeling a whole lot happier. “And to be frank, I’m so exhausted from the day I’ve had, it’s working. So cheers.” He holds up the bright blue cocktail and clicks it against her glass before lifting it to his lips and downing the whole thing in one go.

He’s wiping his lips and gasping for breath in recovery when he spots a head of white blond hair pushing through the crown towards them. His stomach immediately drops and sends him into a massive coughing fit.

“For god's sake get it together Potter. We’re in public and people are looking” Pansy hisses stepping on his foot.

He takes a deep breath and is finally calming the tickle in his throat when Draco reaches them.

“Pansy!” He calls warmly wrapping her and Hermione into a hug.

“Hullo Potter.” He says flatly as he pulls away. “Fancy seeing you here after you walked out on me. You know that examination was incredibly boring for the last two hours.” His gray eyes are dark and steely as he glares at Harry. Harry finds himself having a hard time glancing away just the same.

“Sorry I um had to do something.”

“Oh very convincing Potter.” Draco sneers sitting down at their booth.

They fall silent for a while listening to Hermione and Pansy chat about ministry affairs. Harry settles about drinking the array of drinks in rainbow order.

He’s started on his yellow drink when Hermione excuses herself to the bathroom.

“So Pansy, what did you do to convince that man to keep sending you drinks?” Draco draws, ignoring Harry completely.

“Oh. I bribed him obviously” Pansy responds dismissively, reaching for a new drink.

“What? Why would you bribe him?” Harry breaks through their conversation and from both of their startled looks he can tell they’d forgotten he was there.

“Well don’t tell ‘Mione obviously but I was trying to make her jealous.” Pansy confesses sticking her nose in the air. “Obviously it worked. I'm incredibly genius.”

“That you are.” Draco’s eyes are soft with fondness as he claps Pansy on her shoulder. Harry finds himself distracted, wishing Draco would look at him like that.

“What do you mean why would you try and make her jealous?” Harry stumbles shocked as things start to make sense.

“Oh I think you know Potter.” Draco winks across at him and Harry realizes that Draco must have known about Pansy and Hermione before tonight.

“You knew about this?!” He spits staring Draco down in what he hopes is a menacing manner.

“Obviously” Draco drawls. “How could you not know? It was right in front of your face.”

Harry stomps on Draco’s foot under the table and is about to respond when Theo and Ginny come crashing down onto the bench next to him.

“Hey everyone!” Theo calls to the table, swinging his arm around Harry’s shoulder and leaning in.

“I saw that handholding.” Ginny taunts Pansy as she reaches for her purple drink draining it quickly.

“Did everyone know about this but me?” Harry asks, glaring at his friends (and his arch nemesis) ((and Pansy who he guesses is his friend but it seems a little complicated. Especially if she’s keeping secrets)).

“You know we might not be able to be friends if you’re keeping secrets from me.” He admonishes Pansy.

“The only person I told is Draco,” Pansy huffs prissily. “The rest of them must have figured it out by themselves.”

“It was pretty obvious when we walked in on them cuddling on the coach last week.” Theo adds grinning at Pansy.

“I had a freak out at first but they actually make a lot of sense together.” Ginny interjects quickly. “But don’t tell Ron I said that he’d have a cow.”

Harry wishes Ron was here at least then someone would be as oblivious as he was. Then he thinks about the way Ron had thrown two of his favorite chairs across the room the first time Hermione had gone on a date after their breakup and realizes that this is the first time he’s actually been glad Ron’s gone.

“Well we all know I’m a thousand times better than Ron.” Pansy proclaims looking quite proud.

Harry is startled to find himself agreeing with her. He’d always been confused about how Ron and Hermione worked together. They were both so focused on different things and Ron never paid attention when Hermione talked about work which she passionately cared about. He thinks back to the couple of times he’s seen Pansy and Hermione together the last few weeks and realizes that Hermione's seemed a lot happier. Good for her for finding someone who makes her happy, he decides.

“I think you do make Hermione quite happy.” He states glancing across to Pansy, extending his olive branch. He’s startled to watch a bright grin spread across her face.

“Well look at that!” She giggles in a startlingly un-Pansylike way “the Savior has declared his acceptance. I really must be a thousand times better than Ron.”

Harry winces, in that moment he’s never been more glad that Ron is out of the country.

“You’re making it sound like Potter's approval is worth more than mine.” Draco whines, setting his green drink down onto the table.

“Yes.” Pansy responds primly. “That’s because he’s famous and world renowned and Hermione's best friend.”

“I’m famous and world renowned.” Draco shoots back at her lazily stirring his drink.

“Famous for working with an evil sociopath.” Pansy retorts haughtily.

“Well we can’t all be born the chosen one.” Draco shoots a glare across the table at Harry but this time it’s softer, almost playful and Harry can’t bring himself to glare back. Instead he shoots a lopsided smile back at his nemesis. Draco blanches and breaks eye contact quickly looking down at the sticky table in front of him.

At that moment Hermione’s heels click up to the table and she slides back into her seat next to Pansy. The table falls silent and Hermione looks around suspiciously. “Okay so what did I miss?”

“Potter was just saying he thinks I make you quite happy.” Pansy says her unnatural grin pouring across her face a second time.

“Oh, was he?” Hermione looks flustered and quickly picks up a red cocktail sipping it as her cheeks start to blush.

“I was.” Harry says looking at the two women across from him with warmth in his eyes. Hermione deserves happiness after all she’s gone through and if she’s found it with prickly aristocratic Pansy he’s going to support it. Yeah Pansy can be overdramatic but she’s also quite funny and recently he’s found himself warming up to the cold cutting charm of the Slytherins.

“Well good.” Hermione looks pleased and she scootches closer to Pansy pressing a peck to her cheek.

Theo, Ginny and Draco immediately wolf whistle at them startling Harry but he joins in when they start to applaud.

Pansy pulls away looking sour. “Now look at what you’ve done! everyone’s looking.” She turns toward Hermione looking for support in her reprimanding but Hermione has lost it giggling over her drink, her head falling to Pansy’s shoulder. Pansy softens and brings her hand up to card through Hermione’s curls.

Watching them, Harry's stomach curls. It takes him a second to recognize the feeling as jealousy. He wants what they have so badly it aches. He tries to distract himself glancing around the table to his other friends but his eyes catch on a flicker of gray and suddenly he’s staring into Draco’s eyes; it only makes the pain in his stomach worse.

Without thinking he drains his drink and stands up. “Alright, does anyone want to dance?” He tries to sound as cheerful and unsuspicious as possible.

Hermione immediately glares at him suspiciously.

“Yes!” Ginny and Theo cheer immediately. They’re always up for a rambunctious romp around the dance floor.

“Looks like Harry’s quite drunk already.” Theo says teasingly as he pushes himself up from the table wiggling his eyebrows at him. “Takes quite a bit of drink to get this one moving.”

Harry stands up from the table and finds his legs already feel wobbly and loose underneath him. Huh he must be quite drunk.

He imagines finding out his best friend is dating the best friend of his nemesis and almost accidentally kissing said nemesis all in one day warrant a few more drinks than usual.

The reminder of the almost kiss causes panic to rise in his stomach again and he grabs another drink off the table gulping it down before following Theo and Ginny onto the dance floor.

Theo and Ginny pull him in almost immediately and before he knows it they’re spinning back and forth under the rainbow lights. His legs feel wonderful and light and everything goes a bit blurry. He exchanges grins with Theo as Ginny spins between them her long red hair hitting them both in the face. He allows himself to forget his disastrous afternoon and sinks into the beat of the music.

After a while Pansy and Hermione join them and they form a circle spinning together in an empty corner of the room. Harry finds himself dazedly wondering where Draco has gone and scans the room spotting him across the room dancing close with a dark haired man he doesn’t recognize. A bitter taste rises in the back of his throat and the hot curl of jealousy returns to his stomach. He curses himself for allowing his stupid blonde nemesis to make him feel this way and focuses determinedly on his friends around him. However he can’t quite keep himself from glancing over at Draco every couple of minutes.

This means that when Draco finally leaves his dance partner and starts the trek across the room towards them Harry notices. He does his best to feign ignorance and concentrate on the sway of Ginny and Theo on either side of him leaning into their bodies and laughing with them.

He does such a good job at concentrating on his friends that he actually is startled when Draco cuts in between them.

“Potter.” He says and Harry’s eyes flick up to find the blonde man directly in front of him. Draco’s milky skin is covered with a fine sheen of sweat and he can tell Draco’s had a good amount to drink by the flush on his cheeks.

“Um. Yes?” Harry says, still moving to the music.

“Dance with me?” And suddenly Harry is certain this must all be a trick of his mind. He’s so drunk he’s completely lost it. Or maybe Pansy bribed Draco this time, trying to pull an ultimate prank on him.

“Did Pansy bribe you to ask me that?” He shouts back over the music, his mind still reeling.

“Um. No?” Now Draco looks confused and hesitant.

The lights wash over him painting across his skin and abruptly Harry doesn’t care if Draco’s been bribed or if he’s hallucinating. He gulps, clearing his throat nervously “Er sure. I guess. I guess I’ll dance.”

He steps closer to Draco and Draco pulls him by the sleeve deeper into the crowd. All at once Harry is immensely grateful for how drunk he is. He places his hands on Draco’s shoulders and loses himself in the push and pull of their bodies against each other.

Immediately heat pools at his navel and it feels like there are sparks of magic in the air around him. He gasps as Draco’s slender finger closes around his hips pulling their bodies even closer. He glances up into charcoal eyes expecting them to be cold and blank like in the examining room. His mind draws a blank when he realizes that Draco’s eyes are dilated and his gaze seems to be dragging across Harry’s mouth.

Harry’s too drunk to care about the ancient magic bonding them or the way Draco acted in the examining room earlier that day. All he cares about is the heat in his stomach, and the look in Draco’s eyes, and the sticky sweat feeling of their sweaty bodies against each other. He clasps the back of Draco’s neck in one of his hands pushing his fingers up through the back of his hair. He remembers when he first had the realization that Draco looked like an angel in the sunlight. He never would have imagined he’d find himself here in a darkened club pushing his body into Draco as he looks down at him with so much want in his eyes.

He watches as Draco’s gaze drags across his lips a second time. This time he can’t stop his own eyes from flitting across Draco’s lips and suddenly the two men are leaning in. The cool brush of Draco’s lips against his set a forest fire blazing in his stomach. He leans in craving more and lets himself drown in the dark bliss. Draco licks up between his lips and he opens his mouth to him. Their tongues curl around each other, all hot heat and hurried gasps. The kiss feels like making up for lost time. Harry pushes even closer, sliding a hand up and under Draco’s white shirt.

He barely gets a chance to caress the scorching skin beneath before Draco’s hands are up on his chest. He can’t quite comprehend what’s happening but suddenly he’s stumbling back into the dancers behind him. The burning heat of Draco’s body disappears leaving him cool and aching. He reaches back towards Draco to pull them together where they belong but Draco shoves his hand away.

When Harry meets his eyes they are wild and blazing. “How could you let this happen?!” Draco spits in an accusatory tone. “This isn’t us. It’s the bond. This could never be us. I don’t want you.” His voice is cold and cutting and suddenly Harry feels stone cold sober. He watches frozen as Draco disappears into the crowd.

It’s only after Draco’s disappeared that he looks down at his scarred hand and remembers the gauze he’d wrapped tightly around his scar before leaving that night.

He tries to make sense of what’s just happened and suddenly the panic and confusion of it all solidifies in Harry’s stomach and he’s immediately certain he’s going to vomit that very second.

He pushes his way through the crowds and stumbles through the side door of the pub, vomiting onto the bricks of the alleyway. It’s only a couple seconds before he feels Hemiones cool hands on his back she pulls his hair back for him as he continues to retch onto the cobbles.

“What happened? I saw Draco walk out?” She asks in her most soothing voice.

“I can’t talk about it okay. I just can’t.” Harry is embarrassed to note his eyes are watering; he hopes Hermione doesn’t mistake that for tears. He most certainly is not crying. “The bond is too much and he’s so confusing and I just don’t know what’s going on anymore.”

“Okay okay. We’ll figure it out. It’s going to be okay.” Hermione wraps him in a hug pulling him in close. “I’m going to apparate us home and we’ll have some tea. Tomorrow we can problem solve.”

“What about Pansy?” Harry finds himself asking. Pansy is the last person he wants to see right now; he can't believe he asked that.

“Oh she went after Draco.” Hermione explains quickly, waving her hand towards the front of the pub where Draco had disappeared. “It’s important for her to be there for her friends.” With that said she turns swiftly on her heel apperating them back to Grimmauld Place directly into the sitting room.

Harry drinks the tea Hermione prepares for him and goes about ignoring every single question she asks him. When she presses him he answers her in incoherent mumbles and she quickly gives up hugging him and sending him to bed.

Harry immediately falls into a fitful sleep. He dreams of pale hair tangled between his tanned fingers and milky skin in the sunlight.

It’s impossible to exist in this world without losing a piece of yourself. I look at the way that my fingertips press to your cheeks like butterfly kisses and wish I was better at this. Everyday a human looses 40,000 dead skin cells, each afloat like ashes drifting off into a winter breeze. I find solace in the fact that some of this confeti of DNA has found home on your cheekbones like buried treasure. You’ve spent all day studying genetics so I wonder if you can tell me how long this will last. The helixes of our DNA intertwined across skin like satin ribbons, silky to the touch and yet so slippery.

I’m not in love with him but he’s here and you’re not.

When I press the pads of my fingers down into his cheeks they feel like bruises, sweet like rotting fruit. Last summer we watched peaches decompose on dry grass, the stench of honeyed mildew pulled at our nostrils, a delicate reminder of seasons change. On the last day of August I bit in to an overripe fruit. Her golden skin split against my lips in a perfect crescent and pealed back revealing the bright orange innards to my overeager tongue. As my incisors cleaved a chunk of flesh, fermented juice slipped down my throat and left me coughing. I never would have guessed that a peach this perfect would leave me choking.

If he was a color she would paint him across her mouth like lipstick. I watch as she wears him flaming crimson against her smile. He hangs across her collarbones delicate as a ruby necklace or the scarlet imprint of fingertips before they bruise. His body against hers feels like tripping over a cement curb, he tastes like my cherry chapstick mingled with the blood of her split lip. Given the choice we would both scald our throats just to hold his embers at the base of our stomach. When late at night she texts me a sucker punch of sorry I picture him stained across her skin like wine.

Late last night she texted me one word “sorry” like a sucker punch and I saw him stained across her skin like wine.