I Beg Your Pardon, Potter?

Chapter 41

Seamus, as it turned out, would not let the idea of a party in the Chamber of Secrets go. In fact, on Thursday night, once Harry, Ron and Hermione had arrived back from their training session in the Chamber, Seamus cornered him about it.

"Can you at least show me?" he asked.

"No," Harry said, stowing his Firebolt back in his trunk.

"So you'll show Draco Malfoy, but you won't show me?"

"What?"

"That's where you were, wasn't it?"

"I-"

"-Harry, don't play dumb with me," Seamus said threateningly.

"Well, he is my boyfriend," Harry said, his shoulders slumping.

"Are you saying you fucked him in the Chamber of Secrets?"

"What? No!"

"Shame."

"It's really not the sexiest of places," Harry said. He folded his arms in front of his chest. He was irritated, both that Seamus would insinuate that that might have happened, and because now that Seamus had mentioned it, Harry did want to fool around down there as a big 'fuck you' to Salazar Slytherin. When he thought about it that way, a party in the Chamber of Secrets actually sounded like an excellent idea.

"I don't know," Seamus said. "You won't take me, so I can't say if it's sexy or not."

"It's not." Harry sat down on the top of his trunk and started to unlace his shoes.

"Please," Seamus begged. Harry shook his head, even as Seamus pouted. The other man crossed his arms and glared at Harry once he established that the begging wasn't working. "Fine," he said. "Then I'll just have to tell everyone that it's your sex dungeon."

"Who has a sex dungeon?" Ron asked, walking in at the most embarrassing part of the conversation.

"Harry and Draco are fucking in the Chamber of Secrets," Seamus said.

"No we're not!" Harry protested. Ron made a face at Seamus.

"I think I'm going to believe Harry on this one, Seamus," he said. "It's really not a place that's suggestive of sex. Or happiness. Or anything other than damp and cold."

"So you've been there too," Seamus said. It wasn't a question.

"Yeah," Ron said. "What about it?"

"So you'll take Ron and Draco, but not me."

"Don't forget Hermione and Pansy," Ron said, unhelpfully. Harry wasn't sure if Ron was secretly on Seamus's side. "And Zabini," Ron added as an afterthought. Harry tried to show Ron his displeasure through a glare, but Ron was studying his nails.

"You took all of them and you won't take me?" Seamus now looked hurt, which was exactly what Harry had not wanted. He flopped back onto his bed in exasperation.

"Ok, fine," he said. "I'll take you." Seamus grinned.

...

Draco stared up at the canopy of his bed. He still couldn't quite believe that his patronus was a ferret. He had tried it several more times after the initial ferret had burst forth from his wand, but it stubbornly stayed as a ferret. But at least only his friends knew about it. It wouldn't do for the other Slytherins to find out. Particularly not as Blaise's had turned out to be a very cool looking flying serpent and Pansy's had been a longhaired cat, which was perfectly respectable. But a ferret? He sighed and rolled over onto his side.