Hex Me or Kiss Me Book One

Secret Keepers

Madam Pomfrey brought them soup and sandwiches, although only Harry ate the sandwiches. He fed Draco the soup carefully, every once in a while giving him a potion that Madam Pomfrey would hand him.
Draco would have complained about being fed soup like he was a baby, but he just didn't have much energy for it. And there was the added bonus of Harry holding his chin as he ladled the soup in. He dozed between feedings. Every time he woke up, there was Harry, who would kiss him, feed him and then make him drink something obnoxious. The effort of eating seemed to be all Draco could manage before drifting off again.
Harry sighed and put the bowl of soup down for the moment. What time was it? It felt like it had been forever, and yet it also felt like only a few minutes. Harry didn't have to wait long to know the time. Ron and Hermione entered the hospital wing, looking worried in Hermione's case and a bit disgruntled in Ron's. Harry looked at Draco quickly, checking if he was asleep.
Draco was, thank goodness; Harry didn't think he could do anything with the boy awake.
"Hey," he said to his friends.
Hermione rushed forward. "How's he doing?" she asked awkwardly, but still caringly.
Ron simply stood off to the side, seemingly confused as to why they were all there in the first place.
Harry shrugged. "He'll be okay," he said quietly, staring at Draco's face.
Hermione gave a tiny nod; she looked confused, too. "Harry, what's going on?"
Harry winced. He knew that this would happen. "A lot," he said finally. Hermione pulled up a chair so that she could sit next to him. Ron moved closer and looked at Harry warily.
Harry sighed resignedly. "It's sort of complicated," he said. Hermione nodded while Ron gave a humourless snort.
Harry winced again. "First off ... I should probably tell you that
we're ... erm ... together." He finished very quietly, as if saying it that way would make it less shocking. He was mistaken.
Hermione's mouth dropped open and her eyes went wide.
Ron started laughing madly. "Oh, God, Harry!" he laughed, clutching his stomach. "That's – that's --" he wiped his eyes, "that's the funniest thing I've heard in ages!"
Harry narrowed his eyes slightly. "I'm not joking, Ron," he said angrily.
Ron laughed harder.
"Stop, Ron!" Hermione yelled. "I don't think he's kidding!"
Ron went silent and very pale. He looked at Harry, eyes terribly
wide. "You're not serious, are you?" he asked.
Harry scowled. "Yes, I'm serious," he said in a low, angry voice. Ron mouthed silently for a few seconds. "But that's – you –
you're – Malfoy?!" Harry nodded.
"But that's disgusting!" Ron said, taking a step back.
Hermione gasped. "Ron!" she said, sounding scandalised.
He turned on her. "What?!" he asked, looking like he wanted to
flee. "You can't tell me you believe this shit!"
"I do!" she shouted at him. "Look at Harry! What makes sense,
Ron?"
Ron began mouthing silently again, looking from Harry to
Hermione to Draco. "I – this is – I can't – Harry, he's a bloke! He's Draco Malfoy!"
Harry's eyes narrowed further. "Yes, I've noticed," he said dangerously. "He also has a rather nice cock."
Ron's eyes went even wider, and he turned red. "You're a bloody ponce?!" he cried.
"And if I am?" Harry asked in that same tone of voice.
Ron shook his head, mouth agape. "I – I have to go," he said. "I have to go." He rushed out of the room, Harry glaring after him.
"Fuck him," Harry mumbled, unwilling to show just how much that had hurt.
Hermione placed a hand on Harry's shoulder. "Harry, he'll – I'm sure he'll come around," she squeaked.
Harry wouldn't look up from Draco's face. "Whatever," he said, moving to tuck Draco's hair behind his ear.
Hermione watched, going slightly pink. "I'll talk to him," she said. "Whatever," Harry repeated.
She shifted around a little. "So, what's happened then?"
Harry glanced at her. "He stopped eating," he said simply. "He
got sick from that and not sleeping well."
"Why did he stop eating?" she asked gently.
"I – I think it was from stress or something ..." he said slowly. Hermione raised her eyebrows. "Harry, you know you can tell
me."
Harry looked at her, frowning. He sighed. "He has a mission
from Voldemort. He doesn't want to do it, so I think he was trying to kill himself ... he would've died if he hadn't been brought here today ...." He didn't add the part about the binding; somehow he thought he needed Draco's permission for that.
Hermione gasped. "A mission from Voldemort?" she asked frantically.
Harry nodded.
"What does he have to do!"
"He – I think he has to kill someone ... but he said he's not going
to do it. He says it was someone I care about ...."
Hermione gasped again. "Oh, Harry," she said, clutching the top
of his arm tightly. "Who is it?"
Harry frowned deeper. "He wouldn't tell me. He says it doesn't
matter, because he's not going to do it. He said he'll die if he doesn't do it ...."
"Oh, Harry!" Hermione said again, squeezing tighter. "How – what are you going to do?" she asked.
Harry let out a sad sigh. "I don't know," he said, leaning forward and dropping his head into his hands. Hermione rubbed his back. "I think I love him, Hermione."
Hermione bit her lip, her eyes beginning to fill with tears. "How long have you ..." she said weakly.
"Only four days," Harry said quietly, knowing how absurd the whole thing sounded. "I don't even know how it's happened, but – it has."
"Four days and you love him?" Hermione asked.
"Yes," Harry said fiercely, looking up at her.
Hermione looked him in the eyes for a second and then she gave
a small nod.
Draco woke up to the sound of yelling. It had been so quiet and
peaceful and then the angry voices disturbed it. He lay still, listening, hearing the end of the argument with Ron and the shift in tone when he left. He listened to Harry's defence of him and felt ... safe. A small smile curved his lips and he sighed.
Harry didn't notice Draco wake up; neither, it seemed, did Hermione.
"Harry, is there anything I can do?" she asked. "I'll do anything to help you; you know I will."
"I don't know yet. We have to figure out something first. Draco and I haven't had time to talk yet, he's been too tired."
"Thirsty now," Draco whispered, eyes open and watching the other two.
Harry started at the sound of Draco's voice, and Hermione gasped quietly.
"Okay," Harry said quickly, grabbing a glass of water resting on the bedside table. He grasped Draco's chin and tilted the glass forward.
Draco was still propped up on pillows, so he was able to drink without making too much of a mess. His face flushed at the idea of Hermione seeing him so weak like this. His grey eyes regarded her with a neutral expression.
Harry finished with the water and put it back on the table. "Are you okay?" he asked, wiping at the small trickle that had flown down Draco's mouth and chin. He might've licked it up had Hermione not been present.
Draco turned his attention back to Harry, his face transformed when he did; his gaze both softening and brightening. "I will be when you kiss me." He smirked, knowing it would embarrass Harry. Harry gave a very small wince. "Er – okay," he said, leaning forward and giving Draco a very quick peck on the lips. He didn't look at Hermione.
Draco rolled his eyes and frowned. He glanced at Hermione to gauge her reaction.
Hermione had turned slightly pink and wasn't really looking at
them.
Harry finally looked at her and gave her an apologetic smile.
She smiled back. "Er, how are you feeling, Malfoy?" she asked
quietly.
"Like an animated corpse. How about you?" He sighed.
She frowned slightly, but didn't say anything.
Harry sighed, sensing the extreme awkwardness in the air.
"Hermione wants to help, Draco," he said, grasping his hand.
Draco sighed, closing his eyes. Then he looked at Harry, eye contact challengingly direct. "If you can't kiss me in front of her," he
said, "then you probably won't be able to tell her the rest."
Harry bit his fingernail and swallowed. "Oh, all right, you prat," he said, leaning forward and kissing Draco properly this time. He turned red, and a quick glance at her told him that Hermione was red too. Count on the bloody Slytherin to torture the Gryffindors. Harry
was very glad Ron wasn't there anymore.
Draco sighed into the kiss, completely forgetting Hermione and
the rest of the world. He needed this, he thought. When Harry pulled back, he noticed both Harry and Hermione were embarrassed. He smiled up at them.
Harry rolled his eyes. "So should I tell her then?" he asked, scratching the back of his neck.
Draco huffed. "You mean besides how great my cock is?" He smirked, enjoying their embarrassment. "Harry, you know I don't think anything can be done about this anyway."
"You – you heard?" Harry spluttered, but then he sighed and shook his head. "You know I'm going to do everything possible to make something work out."
Hermione was looking at them both curiously. "What else is there to tell me?" she asked. Draco really looked at the girl. He had never got along with her. But he had to admit he liked her better than the Weasel, blood or no blood. She was intelligent enough and loyal. He finally made a decision. "Yes, if you want to tell her, you can." He looked at her. "Do you keep his secrets then?"
Hermione looked fiercely at Draco. "Of course I do," she said, her head held a bit higher. Harry smiled at her.
Draco nodded, a small smile on this face. "Good," he said,
resting his head back and hoping the dizziness wasn't returning. "He will ... need you ... especially later." He sighed again, still watching her face.
Harry frowned at Draco, while Hermione let out a sniff. "Can you stop talking about dying please?" he asked, glaring at Draco slightly. He didn't wait for an answer before turning to Hermione.
"We made an accidental binding promise," he told her. "I basically own Draco now."
Hermione looked at him, confused. "How can you do something like that on accident?" she asked.
Harry flushed again. "We were, erm ... well – we were – wewerehavingsex." He looked at his hands. Merlin, this was the most embarrassing thing he'd ever had to do. "I cut my finger on a jar and ... when I – wenttopreparehim ... it got inside ... we were also ... crying, so there were tears ... and there was saliva, of course, as well ... andsemen." He finished with a giant breath.
Hermione's eyes were very wide. "That would be very highly magical," she said slowly. "What on earth did you say?"
Harry winced and covered his face. "I told him I owned him," he said through his fingers, mortified.
Draco chuckled, his own face flushing, not with embarrassment but in delight at Harry. Gods, he loved this boy. How was it not obvious to everyone? He shook his head. "And I agreed."
"Yeah, and now I can tell Draco what to do," Harry added. "Clap your hands, Draco," he said to prove this to Hermione.
Draco snarled at the unexpected order but his hands clapped. "Fucking warn me," he snapped, hands still weakly clapping.
"Sorry," Harry said quickly. "You can stop now."
Hermione looked at them each in turn. "That's ... very interesting," she said slowly.
Draco snorted. "Interesting, yes." He frowned.
Hermione looked at Draco thoughtfully. "So, if he can tell you what to do ... that's why you were eating, isn't it?"
Harry answered for him. "He actually ate willingly, but only because I would've forced him to anyway, I think. I told him he couldn't die ... that's why he's not dead." "Wow, that is very powerful magic," Hermione said. "So, then why is there a problem? If you told him he can't die then everything should be all right .... Am I missing something?"
Harry frowned and his eyes shot to Draco's arm and then back very quickly.
Draco snorted. "Because forcing me to eat and having me die a painful death because I failed ... my father's master ... that's such an improvement."
Hermione frowned. "How would you die a painful death if you failed?" she asked. "Did Voldemort tell you he was going to kill you?" Draco sighed and looked past her to rest of the room, making
sure that Madam Pomfrey was out of ear shot. He grimaced, glancing at his arm. She had insisted he had been changed into loose nightclothes and he had insisted only Harry be there for that. The sleeve was long enough to cover it, but didn't have a cuff. "I have a deadline. I must follow his orders before the anniversary of my birth or die."
"Draco," Harry began, "if I've told you you can't die ... would it still kill you?"
Hermione only looked at Draco fearfully.
"I hope so," he breathed, looking truly frightened, "because the alternative is worse. I really would be a walking corpse."
"What are you two talking about?" Hermione asked, looking at them both with wide, fearful eyes. "I don't understand what's going on. What would kill you?"
Draco put his right hand over his left forearm, pressing against the skin there. He could just feel the serpent underneath. He looked to Harry, waiting for him to tell him what he wanted now.
Harry met Draco's eyes and stared for a bit. He nodded. "Show her," he said. "If there's anything she can do .... You have to show her."
Draco grimaced and then reached for the edge of the sleeve and pulled it carefully up, exposing the serpent. Then he turned the arm underside up so that the head with its fangs could be seen.
Hermione gasped and covered her mouth with her hands. "What is that?" she exclaimed, looking from Draco to Harry again.
"It's a binding serpent," Harry said quietly. He looked up at Draco. "It'll kill him if he doesn't do what he's supposed to by the time his birthday comes around." "How?"
"It'll inject poison. It'll inject poison if he tries to remove it as well."
Hermione looked at Harry, her eyes filled with sympathy for him.
Draco pulled the sleeve back down and closed his eyes. "It is irreversible. The poison has no antidote. And it is ... extremely painful."
"I've never heard of it before," Hermione said. "It must be Dark magic?" She looked at Draco, even though she didn't really need an answer.
"Yes, very," he said quietly. He looked at her. "Harry doesn't want to accept this. Maybe you will be able to help him understand."
Harry scowled at Draco.
"Let's not give up hope," Hermione said, fierceness returning. "I'll try and look some things up ... maybe there's something in the Restricted Section .... Have you thought about going to Dumbledore? If anyone can help you, it'll be him."
Draco sighed and shook his head. "Gryffindors," he snorted, as if that was answer enough.
Harry frowned again, feeling as if his face might get stuck that way. "Draco, she's right," he said. "Have you thought about going to Dumbledore?"
Draco groaned, wincing at the mention of the name of the last person in the world he wanted to talk to or about. "No, I cannot talk with him about this," he said quietly.
Harry looked at Draco, confused. "You'll tell Hermione, but not Dumbledore? The one person who could probably get you out of this?" Harry didn't understand why Draco was being this way.
"It does make quite a bit of sense to go to Dumbledore," Hermione piped in.
Draco closed his eyes, not lying when he said quietly, "I am really tired, can we talk about this later?"
Harry sighed heavily. "All right," he said, grasping Draco's hand for a moment.
Hermione looked at both boys. "I better get going then," she said, getting to her feet. She placed a hand on Harry's shoulder and squeezed. "I'll talk to Ron, Harry, and maybe I'll go to the library and try to see if I can find anything. Erm, goodnight, Malfoy. Bye, Harry." And then she turned and left, leaving Harry and Draco alone. Harry turned back to Draco. "It's only dinner, but do you think
Pomfrey'll let me stay in here with you?" he asked.
Draco's eyes popped open at that, looking suddenly frightened.
"You can't leave," he said, holding Harry's hand tightly.
Harry looked at Draco concernedly. "All right, all right, I won't
leave," he said soothingly, leaning in to kiss Draco lightly.
Draco sighed into the kiss, his other hand reaching up to tangle
in Harry's hair, pulling him into a stronger kiss.
Harry indulged him for a few seconds, but then forced himself to
pull away when he sensed where it was going. "We can't do that in here," he whispered with a little laugh.
"Need you," Draco whispered, not letting go of his hair or hand and trying to pull him down again.
Harry's eyes widened. "Draco," he said, looking from left to right to see where Pomfrey was, "we can't."
Draco actually whimpered, refusing to let go. "Harry, please," he begged.
"What do you want me to do, stick my hand down the blankets?" Harry asked incredulously.
"No, want you," Draco moaned, his hand clenching in Harry's hair.
Harry groaned. "Pomfrey is in here," he said, pinching his eyes closed. "I can't get on top of you and shag you while she could just walk in at any moment! Listen to yourself!"
"I don't care who is there," Draco gasped.
Harry looked at Draco very confusedly. The way he was clutching at him and grasping at his hair was very unlike him ... at least in such an open environment. "Draco ... what the?" Harry asked, trying to pull away a bit. He looked up to see if Pomfrey was there again. Draco clutched at Harry, not letting go. He whimpered.
"Draco, let go!" Harry said, panicking a little.
Draco let go but grabbed the edge of the bed, moaning and begging.
Harry flung backwards when Draco released him, staring at him
with wide eyes. He got up from his chair so fast, he knocked it over, and he ran over to Pomfrey's office door and banged on it.