Malfoy Flavor

-20-

The next several days were absolutely miserable for Harry. They were actually miserable in some ways for a lot of people. It was clear to everyone in the school by lunchtime that first day that something had happened. Normally Harry and Draco were inseparable, but now they were at opposite ends of the table. Harry looked crushed and Draco looked like he would hex the next person that dared to say a word to him.

And no one was stupid enough to approach him. They weren't sure if they dared to approach Harry, either. Something had obviously gone terribly wrong between them and no one wanted to face Draco's wrath by getting involved. The tension was awful, and became more miserable for everyone as the week wore on.

Unfortunately, Harry was the one that was more miserable than anyone. Except for Draco maybe, but Draco was hiding it a whole lot better than Harry was. The problem was that Harry knew he deserved it. It didn't mean he liked the situation, but he knew it was his fault. And that's what he told anyone who was brave enough to approach him over the next week. "It's my fault. I deserve this." And that's all he would say. No matter how much coaxing, he wouldn't say anything else.

Harry went to classes and showed up for meals, but otherwise holed himself up in his room. He wouldn't have shown up for meals except for the dire threats from his father, who forced him to go. By the end of the week, it was clear to everyone that Harry wasn't sleeping and he certainly wasn't eating much. He would ignore everyone and just stare at his plate and push the food around until he could leave.

Finally, Blaise and Pansy dared to say something again to Draco. Harry may have said it was his own fault, but he looked so miserable. Blaise confronted Draco. "What did you do to him?"

"Bloody hell," Draco exploded. "It's not my fault! Quit glaring at me like I'm the one who's done something wrong."

"What the hell did he do that was so bad, Draco?" Pansy asked. "He looks awful."

Harry had heard Draco, and saw all the glares being directed at the blond. He stood up and looked at them all angrily. "He's right. It's not his fault. It's mine. I screwed up. I deserve every last bit of Draco's anger, so just back off." His voice rose. "If you want to be angry with someone, then fucking be angry with me."

He looked down at the table and muttered under his breath, "You will all be angry with me too, once you find out."

He looked back up and realized that everyone in the Great Hall was staring at him, and the room was silent. He climbed over the bench and stood facing everyone. He took a deep breath and said, "Look, just leave him alone, would you? He didn't do anything."

Harry spun on his heel so he could just leave the hall. He didn't make it out of the room, though. All of a sudden he was grabbed by the arm and spun around once again. He was standing face to face with Draco.

Draco glared at him. "I'm still angry with you."

Harry looked down at the floor. "I know," was all he said.

Draco reached out and tipped Harry's chin up so he could look into his eyes. "But I've still missed you this week."

"What?" Harry asked. He sounded like an idiot, he knew, but he couldn't help it.

"I said," Draco said slowly, "I've missed you. I'm not happy with you, but I've missed you."

He reached out and grabbed Harry's robe and slowly pulled Harry towards him. In the next moment he was hungrily kissing Harry, and Harry was desperately kissing him back. At least they were, until the cheering started in the Great Hall.

Harry stared up at Draco. "I've missed you too, you know. I never meant to hurt you."

"Can we go somewhere and talk?" Draco asked.