A Nightmare in Heaven

Chapter 8

Harry woke up the next morning warm and cozy. The fluffy duvet was tossed over him but it was more than that-he felt safe. His mind was still mostly groggy when he realized they had somehow shifted in their sleep so Harry's head was in the crook of Draco's arm with his hand laying on Draco's chest. Despite having a brief moment of shock, he decided to double down on his luck and just enjoy being held by someone.

And no wonder couples constantly spent time laying about in each other's arms! Perhaps he enjoyed it so much because he was starved for someones-anyone's-touch, but he didn't ever want to move from his current position. That was, until Draco woke up.

He kept his eyes closed and his breathing even as Draco gently untangled himself and quietly closed the bathroom door. He rolled over, disappointed that Draco had left but not completely crushed like he would have been had Draco decided to freak out. A part of him had expected that, prepared him for it even, but Draco was surprisingly calm about it.

He heard the door open again and tensed just a little when he felt the bed dip behind him before relaxing completely as an arm slid under his pillow and another was wrapped around his waist. Harry felt himself smile the smallest amount and before he drifted off once more. He couldn't be sure, but he swore he felt Draco's lips graze the back of his neck just before sleep overtook him again.

The next time he woke, Draco seemed fast asleep. He yawned and stretched before getting up without jostling the blond. He had no idea that Draco was watching him-more specifically, that Draco was practically drooling while watching Harry's arse as he moved.

The two boarded the Hogwarts Express for their sixth year and found an empty compartment together. Draco stowed their trunks and Hedwig's cage on the racks above them and they settled in for the ride. They'd purposefully shown up early to avoid the crowd of perpetually almost-late witches and wizards dropping their children off at the platform. Draco started to read aloud-something that had started quite spontaneously when Harry had gotten curious about what he was reading. Draco tried, and failed, to keep the smile off of his face when Harry relaxed and laid down on the bench with his head on Draco's lap. He carded his fingers through the brunet's hair and read with the book levitating in front of him.

He noticed Hermione put a charm on their compartment door as she walked by, no doubt showing the younger years where to go. She returned after the train started moving and quietly stowed her things away. She didn't say anything but pointedly looked at Harry and back at him with an eyebrow raised.

"He spent most of the summer with me, you know that. This relaxes him." She sighed in resignation and sat down.

"So what's happened between you two?" Her question confused him. Happened how? How much did he say? How much could he say? Harry had explicitly told him he didn't want anyone to know how bad it was.

"I-I can't tell you, really, how this summer started. He told me he doesn't want me to talk about it, so I won't. But in the end, my father agreed to pick him up and bring him back to the manor for the rest of the summer. We've grown quite comfortable with each other."

"And the book? You were reading to him." Draco cursed himself as he felt a blush start to make itself known on his cheeks.

"I was reading one day and he asked me what it was about. Since I had just started, I went back and started reading out loud as a joke but he said he was interested in hearing the rest only a few paragraphs in." He shrugged. "I simply obliged him and it became a part of our routine."

"Yes, but Gone With the Wind? Seriously? I never thought you'd read anything written by a muggle but especially not that one!" He downright loathed that he could feel his cheeks grow hotter.