A/N- I just want to take a minute to thank my two reviewers HelloLish and laffertyluver23. I literally do a little happy dance every time I read your sweet reviews! I come back and look at them all of the time when I need encouragement! Thanks for the support!

Chapter III

September 12th 1996

I'm seeing red. All around me, everywhere I turn.

I saw him today, after Quidditch practice, in the showers. I've never seen him naked before, but it was better than anything I've ever imagined— and I've been imagining this for a long time now. He's gorgeous, simply gorgeous. I wanted to drop to my knees before him, make him moan my name.

I will have him. I’ll do whatever it takes. He’s the only one who can do this to me. I’ve never put out so much effort just to have someone look at me before. But no one else looks at me like he does. I think he’s the only one who looks at me and actually sees. He doesn’t hate me because I’m a Malfoy, a Slytherin, and my father’s a bloody Death Eater. He hates me because I’m Draco; my father and my money have nothing to do with it. He hates me because I can look at him and see everything that he is, and know everything he fears.

I hate myself for knowing, but at the same time, I can't stop it. I don't want to look away. This is how it has always been, and I have no choice but to bear it. I'll follow him, watch him, and want him, until the day I die.

January 1997

Wednesday

Ron and Draco woke up early the next morning and, after returning the room to its original state and sharing a few last kisses, returned to their respective dormitories. Neither of them mentioned the incident from the night before. Ron was still convinced that it was a complete accident. During the night, he had actually started to feel a little guilty for drawing Draco's attention to it.

His uniform covered the two angry, red bite marks, so he wasn't exactly worried about it. There was no chance anyone would see them, unless of course, they happened to catch him without a shirt on.

He slipped into his bed in Gryffindor Tower and closed the curtains, thinking over what had happened last night and that morning. Draco had been completely back to normal when they woke up. He treated Ron in his usual caring, tender way; kissing and cuddling until the last possible moment. And when they absolutely had to leave, he complained like the spoiled little git he is, but endured it, instead of withdrawing and falling into a depression.

Ron rubbed a hand over his face in frustration. He wished there was a way they could be together without the stress weighing them down. It was certainly taking its toll on Draco, and it physically hurt Ron to see him suffering.

Luckily, the weekend was fast approaching, and then they would have a full day to themselves while everyone else was in Hogsmeade. Neither of them actually went into the village anymore. They would manage to talk their way out of it, explaining to their friends that they had homework to catch up on or something of that nature. And then, they would sleep in late on Saturday, and hopefully spend most of the day together. They usually had to stay in their third floor classroom, but that was fine with them. Once or twice they slipped out to take a walk around the lake, but they quickly decided against that idea since they couldn't have any overt physical contact in a place where they might be seen.

Ron soon started to hear the usual sounds of Harry and the others waking up, and he buried his head under his pillow. He would give anything for just a few more hours of sleep, but he had found that it was nearly impossible for him to actually sleep peacefully without Draco in his arms. He wondered how he had managed without that for so long.

Finally, he was forced to get out of bed, and he thoughtlessly went through his morning routine. First and foremost, he securely closed the curtains on his bed, making sure there was no possible way for anyone to see in. Then he pulled out some clothes and headed off to take a shower, carefully washing away all evidence of his nightly meeting with Draco. That finished, he got dressed, gave himself one last look over in the mirror, and headed down to the common room to meet up with Harry and Hermione.

The trio walked to breakfast in companionable silence; all too tired to even attempt conversation.

Once they were seated in the Great Hall, Ron glanced over toward Draco. Draco was already looking in his direction, and when their eyes met, Draco smiled that small, secretive smile that always made Ron melt. Ron nodded and returned the smile, and within seconds, they had both returned to their meals as if the moment had never happened.

Ron absently stroked the bite mark on his neck through his robes, the small stabs of pain sending a slight thrill through his body. He didn't like it because it hurt, he liked that it was Draco. It was testament that he and Draco had been together; that Draco's mouth had been there, on his body. Even though no one else knew, it was the most real thing in the world.

"How did you sleep last night, Ron?" Hermione asked without looking up, meticulously pushing around the food on her plate.

"Wonderfully," he answered truthfully, a small smile tugging at his lips.

She smiled. "That's good,"

What was sure to be an awkward silence was broken by Harry's sudden comment, "Ugh, I wish Malfoy would stop looking over here."

Ron's head snapped up, and sure enough, Draco was glaring across the room at them.

"Ignore him," Ron mumbled, staring at Draco curiously.

Draco refocused his gaze on Ron, smirked, and looked away. Ron had come to learn that public smirks were now a good thing, so he wasn't worried. Draco still hated Harry and Hermione, after all, so of course they would glare at each other from time to time. He had just been worried that Draco was trying to pull another stunt like he did in Defence Against the Dark Arts the previous day.

Hermione, who had turned around to look at Draco, turned back to Ron and Harry. "He's so rude," she huffed, going back to poking at the food on her plate. "Doesn't he have anything better to do than just sitting around and glaring at us?"

"We're lucky he's just glaring," Ron answered, thinking of the quill again.

"Yeah, at least the prat's not flicking potions ingredients at us this time." Harry added.

Ron felt himself bristle at Harry's comment, but covered it with a laugh. "Speaking of Potions, I forgot to do the essay." He said casually, hoping to change the subject. "Can I look at yours, Hermione?"

"Oh, I suppose," she said with a good natured sigh. "Are you ever going to learn to do your own homework?"

"Why would he?" Harry cut in, "As long as we have you around, Hermione, we don't need to do our own work."

Hermione rolled her eyes. "One of these days, I'm going to say ‘no' and you're both going to regret it."

"Just be sure to warn us in advance, alright?" Ron said, smirking in a way that would have made Draco proud.

Draco... he was glaring again. Ron gave him a subtle, questioning look, to which Draco responded by shaking his head dismissively. Keeping his eyes locked on Draco's, Ron slowly rose to his feet.

"Where are you going?" Hermione asked.

"Bathroom," he lied, "I'll see you in class."

Finally, Draco nodded ever so slightly, and Ron turned and left the Great Hall. He slipped into a small, unused classroom, and sat down on a desk to wait for Draco. After a few, long minutes, the door finally opened and Draco entered, locking the door behind him.

"Hi," he said with a smile, quickly walking over to Ron.

Ron slipped off the desk and wrapped his arms around Draco's neck, stroking his hair. "Hi,"

Draco leaned up and brushed his lips against Ron's chin, gently caressing his back with his hands. He dragged his lips across Ron’s jaw, his gut twisting in excitement as Ron drew in a sharp breath. Ron’s lips caught Draco’s, and he kissed him desperately. Even though they had only been apart for a few hours, it felt like they hadn't seen each other in years.

"Did you want something?" Draco asked, tilting his head.

"Not really," Ron admitted, nuzzling against the side of Draco's face, pressing a gentle kiss against his cheek. "You seemed angry, that's all."

"I just hate your little mudblood," Draco drawled.

Ron kissed him again, wisely ignoring Draco's comment.

"You do seem happier today than you did yesterday, though," Ron informed him.

Draco tightened his hold on Ron. "Yesterday was..." he paused, looking for the right words. "A bad day."

"But you're better now?"

"Oh yes, of course," Draco answered sincerely. It was true, he hadn't had a single disturbing thought so far, nor was he unexplainably tense and depressed. He felt like his usual self: happy and mischievous, the complete opposite of his personality from the previous day. It all just seemed like a horrible, vivid nightmare.

They kissed again; a soft, mutual peck. Draco leaned his head against Ron’s shoulder, and Ron rested his head on top of Draco’s. They stood there silently, holding each other in a comfortable embrace.

“We should go,” Draco said finally, pulling away to hold Ron at arm’s length.

Ron sighed. “Yeah,”

“Third floor after lunch?”

“I think I can make it this time,” Ron answered with a nod.

“Good,”

Their lips brushed together one last time, and Ron murmured a quiet “I love you.”

“I know,” Draco smirked.

Ron smiled and gave Draco’s hand a tight squeeze, then reluctantly pulled away. Draco took that as his cue to leave, and slipped out of the room.

After waiting for a few minutes, Ron left the room as well and headed to double Potions. He managed to make it with only seconds to spare. Snape shot him a warning look, then began class.

“For the next month, we shall be working on a very difficult potion.” Snape said sternly, gazing around the room. “As many of your skills are, shall we say, less than satisfactory, I will be putting you in pairs.”

Ron and Harry exchanged nervous glances, knowing that any pair Snape assigned couldn’t possibly be good for anyone involved.

“If I hear any complaining,” Snape continued, “points will be deducted. That goes for Gryffindor and Slytherin.”

There was a collective moan from the Slytherin side of the room, which was immediately squelched by Snape’s steely glare.

“Granger!” Snape barked, glaring at her. “You’re with Crabbe.”

With a small sigh, Hermione picked up her bag and moved to the other side of the room. Goyle vacated his place next to Crabbe, and she reluctantly took it.

“Longbottom,” Snape continued, his black eyes glittering, “you’re with Goyle.”

Ron felt a stab of pity for his friend, realising Snape had assigned the pair with full knowledge that there would be no way they could pass. Neville, trembling with apprehension, watched as Goyle lumbered across the room to slide onto the bench next to him.

“Weasley,” Snape’s wicked grin grew, “you’re with Malfoy.”

Ron stared at Snape in disbelief, not daring to believe what he just heard. He spun around and saw Draco staring back at him with the same look of surprise. To anyone else, they both looked horrified, but on the inside, they couldn’t have been more relieved.

Draco slowly stood up, feigning reluctance, and Ron’s heart fluttered with joy. For the next few weeks, he was actually going to enjoy Potions.

“Move, Harry,” he grumbled, just a little too sternly.

Fortunately, Harry misunderstood his harshness as disappointment. “Sorry, mate,” he said quietly, picking up his things and moving out of Draco’s way.

Draco slipped gracefully onto the bench, sliding closer to Ron than necessary. Ron subtly found Draco’s hand under the table, gently caressing his palm with his fingers. Draco’s hand closed on Ron’s and gave his fingers a light squeeze.

Snape continued announcing partners; Harry and Pansy, Lavender and Blaise; but Ron and Draco had stopped paying attention long ago.

“I’m actually going to pass one Potions assignment this year...” Ron observed, whispering so no one would overhear.

“I’m not going to do all the work for you.” Draco responded just as quietly.

“Most of it?”

“Fine, most of it.” Draco’s eyes sparkled with laugher, though his face remained impassive. “But only because I don’t trust you with my grade.”

Ron stifled a laugh and turned to face the front again.

Snape finished listing off the pairs, then began to explain the assignment.

“We shall be brewing Polyjuice Potion. Who can tell me what that is?”

Hermione’s hand snapped up, but Snape called on Draco, who had lazily raised his hand.

“It transforms a person to look exactly like someone else.”

“Correct.” Snape said with an almost imperceptible grin. “Ten points for Slytherin.”

Ron squeezed Draco’s hand, but didn’t risk looking at him. He made sure to scowl, just in case anyone happened to be watching him.

“Polyjuice Potion takes exactly one month to brew,” Snape said, pacing around the room. “We will begin the process in February, and at the end of the month, those of you who have completed the potion successfully will transform into your partner.”

Draco and Ron glanced at each other, then back at Snape.

“Before we even begin brewing, I’m assigning an essay on the ingredients and properties of the potion. All research is to be done together, and I expect an essay with both partners’ handwriting on it. Twenty inches long, at least. Due on Monday; the day we begin brewing.”

Snape spent the rest of the class explaining the early development of the potion and how it has been used. Ron quickly zoned out, finding it was much more amusing to play with Draco’s fingers under the table. Draco’s attention remained on Snape, although Ron noticed that his cheeks had a slight pink tinge to them.

The bell rang and the class was evacuated, leaving Ron and Draco who were packing up their things with deliberate slowness. As soon as the room was completely empty, Ron excitedly turned his attention to Draco.

“Can you believe Snape actually paired us up?”

“I was a little surprised.” Draco admitted. “I expected him to put me with Potter, since he seemed determined to put everyone with someone they hated.”

Ron shrugged. “At least he didn’t. I might have had to kill Harry.”

Draco laughed. “Maybe I should have been paired up with him, then.”

“Very funny,”

Draco sighed and stretched, his muscles were cramped from sitting for so long. “Well, I’m hungry. Let’s go to lunch.”

Ron nodded and slipped his bag onto his shoulder. He was surprised when Draco pressed a quick kiss against his lips.

“Draco!” He gasped, looking around the room frantically to make sure they were really alone.

Draco just laughed and walked away, leaving Ron sputtering indignantly behind him.

Lunch passed by uneventfully, and Ron and Draco spent the rest of their short break in their third floor classroom.

Ron sat against the back wall, legs spread out in front of him. Draco had settled between Ron’s legs, resting back against Ron’s chest, while Ron’s arms were wrapped securely around him.

Draco yawned for the third time since they got into that position, and Ron was finally beginning to notice how tired he looked.

“Didn’t you sleep last night?” He asked.

Draco shook his head, stifling another yawn. “Not really, no.” He had been plagued by nightmares, and every small sound woke him. He probably only got an hour or two of actual sleep.

“Why not?” Ron asked, concerned. He immediately thought of Draco’s strange behaviour the previous night, and was almost certain that it was the reason.

“You snore too loud,” Draco answered teasingly, avoiding the subject of his nightmares.

“What? No I don’t!”

“Oh, yes you do,” Draco laughed snidely.

“Well, so do you.” Ron responded lamely.

“Malfoys don’t snore,”

“Draco, I haven’t met a bloke in my life that doesn’t.”

Draco looked up at him. “And exactly how many blokes have you been sleeping with?”

Ron swatted him playfully. “You know what I meant. I do share a dorm room with Harry, Neville, Dean, and Seamus – and they all snore.”

“Maybe it’s a Gryffindor thing?”

Ron laughed. “Yeah, I’m sure that’s it.”

Draco snuggled back down into Ron’s embrace, closing his eyes. He was just about to drift off when Ron spoke again.

“We should probably go soon,”

Draco inhaled deeply, stretching a little. “I’m not,” he mumbled, rubbing his face.

“What?”

“I’m not going back to class.” Draco clarified, slowly rising to a sitting position.

“What are you going to do?” Ron asked curiously.

“I was thinking I’d take the rest of the day off. Go back to my dorm and sleep.”

“Good idea,”

Ron leaned forward and kissed him, then they both slowly rose to their feet.

“I’ll see you tonight,” Draco said warmly.

After a few last kisses, Ron left for Transfiguration class. Minutes later, Draco departed for the Slytherin dorms.

The rest of the day was an uninteresting blur without Draco around. Ron was used to seeing him in the hallways, and he couldn’t help but feel disappointed, even though he knew Draco wouldn’t be there.

He did show up to dinner, however, looking much more awake than he had earlier. He nodded at Ron as he sat down, then turned his attention away from the Gryffindor table.

Once dinner was over, Ron went back to the Gryffindor common room to wait. He and Draco didn’t exactly have a set meeting time, they just waited until everyone in their dorm room went to sleep, and then they snuck out.

Fortunately, Ron never had to wait very long, since Harry and the others usually went to bed relatively early. The only nights he had wait were after Quidditch games. That’s when he was grateful for Hermione, who made everyone go to bed after awhile. Otherwise, they’d probably stay up all night.

He waited until the room got quiet and Neville’s soft snores began to drift through the silence. Quietly slipping out of bed, he glanced warily around the room. Everyone’s curtains were closed, meaning they were all probably asleep. He closed his curtains securely behind him, then tiptoed out of the room.

Once he got out of the common room, he sped up to a brisk walk and made his way down to the third floor. He always kept an eye out for Filtch and Mrs Norris, but tonight, they were nowhere in sight.

Draco was already in their classroom when Ron arrived. His robe had already been taken off and was draped across a desk. The bed had already been transfigured and Draco was sitting on the edge of it, looking extremely bored.

“Took you long enough,” he grumbled.

“Sorry,”

Ron placed the usual charms on the door, then slipped off his robe and dropped it on the desk with Draco’s. He joined Draco on the bed and pulled him close, tenderly kissing Draco’s cheek.

“I really hate this,” Draco mumbled.

Ron jerked away, staring at Draco in confusion. “What?”

“I didn’t mean this,” Draco clarified, taking Ron’s hand and squeezing it. “I hate that we have to hide it. I hate that we have to sneak away to even touch each other.”

Ron pulled Draco close again, caressing his jaw and neck lovingly. “I know. But there’s nothing we can do about it.”

Draco smiled and moved to straddle Ron’s waist, sitting in his lap. He leaned down and kissed him, enjoying the feeling of having to look down at him. Ron untucked Draco’s shirt and slid his hands under it, running his hands over Draco’s smooth back.

“I was thinking about this weekend,” Draco said quietly, pulling away to look at Ron.

“What about it?”

“I think we should go to Hogsmeade together.”

Ron stared up at him in surprise. “Are you crazy?”

“No, just listen,” Draco said, as he lazily started unbuttoning Ron’s shirt, “I have this all planned out.”

Ron sighed and moved his hands up to Draco’s hair, purposely dishevelling it.

“We’ll leave a little later than everyone else,” Draco explained, “so we can actually walk there together. Then when we get there, you walk in front of me, and I’ll stay far enough back so it won’t look suspicious.”

Ron nodded.

“Then,” Draco continued, “you pick whatever shop you want to go in, and I’ll follow. If you see something you want, pick it up and call attention to it somehow -shake it or something- then leave the shop. I’ll wait a few minutes, then buy whatever it was that you wanted.”

“Draco-”

“And you’re not going to tell me ‘no,’ because there’s no way you can spend all of my money. I could buy you all of Hogsmeade and still have plenty left over.”

“I know,” Ron sighed.

“Look,” Draco said flatly, pushing Ron’s shirt completely off. “I want to do this for you. So just let me, okay?”

Draco rolled his hips once, slowly and teasingly, keeping his eyes locked on Ron’s.

“Okay,” Ron breathed, pulling Draco close and kissing him. “I’ll think about it.”

Draco smirked and started rocking against Ron in earnest, their moans mingling together. He dropped his head down onto Ron’s shoulder, and quickly unbuttoned on his own shirt before he yanked it off and threw it to the floor.

He started pressing kisses against Ron’s shoulder, small moans escaping him as he continued to grind their bodies together. Ron held onto Draco tightly, blunt fingernails digging into pointed shoulder blades. Ron knew neither of them would last much longer this way, so with sudden speed, Ron flipped them over to fully lie on the bed. Draco let out a startled cry, landing on his back with Ron on top of him. He stared up at Ron with wide, surprised eyes. Ron was just about to apologise when Draco started laughing loudly. Ron bit his lip to contain his own laughter, but found it impossible with Draco in hysterics beneath him.

Draco gazed up at Ron, eyes sparkling with mirth, an adoring, carefree smile on his face. Ron was hit with a sudden wave of emotion, knowing he was the only one in the world to ever see Draco this way. He leaned down and kissed Draco’s nose, causing Draco to wiggle and shake with laughter.

“I’d love to go to Hogsmeade with you,” Ron said with a smile.

“Didn’t take you long to make up your mind, did it?” Draco asked rhetorically, still struggling to contain himself.

Ron ran his hands lightly up and down Draco’s chest and shoulders, then dipped down to place a few soft kisses on his neck.

“I don’t think it will work, though,” Ron whispered, but Draco had already forgotten what they were talking about.

He bit back a moan and rolled them over, pushing Ron onto his back. Before Draco could do anything else, however, Ron pushed Draco over again, rolling back on top of him. Draco made a small noise that was somewhere between a laugh and a frustrated grunt, and wrestled his way back on top.

“Now stop it,” Draco said with mock annoyance, settling himself comfortably on top of Ron.

Ron leaned up and kissed him passionately, wrapping his arms around Draco’s shoulders. At some point during their kiss, Draco had slid his knee between Ron’s legs. Ron shifted beneath him, bending his legs, and made a soft, contented sound.

“I love you,” Ron whispered, caressing Draco’s cheek.

Draco turned his head and kissed Ron’s palm. His answer was silent, but still perfectly clear. His hands trailed down Ron’s body, his mouth following to tease Ron’s neck and chest. Ron sucked in a breath, arching toward Draco’s touch. Draco’s hands found Ron’s trousers, undoing them with practised ease. Ron raised his hips, making it easier for Draco to pull them off.

Draco smirked and kissed the inside of Ron’s thigh. “Nothing on underneath, I see,”

Ron stifled a laugh. He could tell Draco didn’t really care for an explanation, so he didn’t offer one. Truthfully, he only had a few decent pairs of underwear, and the house elves hadn’t taken those for washing yet. He really didn’t want Draco seeing his old, threadbare clothing, so he figured it would be less embarrassing to go without.

Ron sat up and shoved Draco’s trousers off, trying not to feel slightly envious of the perfect, silk underwear underneath. He pushed those down as well, much more interested in what was hidden under them.

Ron slid most of the way back down onto the bed, propping himself up on his elbows to watch Draco push the last remainder of his clothing completely off. Draco pulled his wand out of his pocket before he let his trousers fall to the floor.

He settled back between Ron’s legs, slowly pushing Ron’s knees up to his chest. He mumbled a quick spell, then slowly slipped in finger one finger after another.

Ron moaned and Draco leaned forward, kissing the side of Ron’s mouth. Ron’s lips caught Draco’s and they kissed desperately, their teeth knocking together.

Draco finally pulled his hand out of the way and shifted into position. With one last kiss, he thrust in, watching Ron’s face intently. After a tense moment, Ron nodded and Draco began to move. He moved slowly at first, working up to a more frenzied pace. Ron moaned and shifted his hips, moving with Draco.

Draco made a sound almost like a sob, and planted his hands firmly on either side of Ron’s body, just under his arms. Ron slipped a hand from where it had been buried in Draco’s hair to move down between their bodies.

They came in unison, crying out and shuddering against each other. They were still for a moment, gazing at each other as they struggled to catch their breath. Draco leaned down and kissed Ron with overwhelming gentleness, then pulled back just enough to allow them to breathe. Ron gently pushed Draco’s head back so he could look at him, and smoothed Draco’s sweat slicked hair out of his face.

Draco smiled tiredly, his eyes shining with love meant for Ron alone. Ron leaned forward and touched a lingering kiss to Draco’s forehead, then slowly pulled Draco down to rest against his chest.

For once, they were completely content. They forgot all about their stress and frustration, along with Draco’s lingering fears. But as they drifted to sleep, Draco was forced into a place that would never allow him to forget again.